Cassidy knows score
Awards nice, but B’s have more work to do
LAS VEGAS — When asked how he felt about his chances to land the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year, Bruce Cassidy cracked a wide smile.
“I’ve working on my runner-up speech. Or runnerup to the runner-up. I’ve got that down pat,” the Bruins coach joked last night.
No, Cassidy is not expected to take home the hardware tonight at the league’s annual awards show, not with the remarkable job that hometown favorite Gerard Gallant did with the Vegas Golden Knights, taking the expansion squad to the Stanley Cup finals.
But now that Cassidy is past the bitterness of his team’s season ending in the second round of the playoffs, he has come to appreciate what he was able to accomplish in leading the B’s to a surprisingly strong regular season with a youth-laden team. It was also 14 long years in between his NHL head coaching gigs after a short tenure in Washington.
Now, here among the brightest stars of the game, it’s all starting to sink in.
“(My wife) Julie and I were talking about it this morning. You sort of feel, for me personally, that you’re starting to belong when you’re around these type of festivities and people in the industry,” said Cassidy, who is here with Patrice Bergeron, up for his record fifth Selke Award. “That part is very rewarding. You don’t like to finish the way we did, so there’s unfinished business. But there’s not a lot you can do about that now. You take care of that in the summer and you work to get better. But right now, we are enjoying it. This morning I was out with Butch Harmon and was working with one of the best golf instructors ever. That’s a perk of being out here, so you might as well enjoy those things.”
So Cassidy is having his fun here. But, like any coach, Cassidy’s thoughts about his team, and how to make it better, are never too far from his mind. General manager Don Sweeney has voiced his desire to land Russian free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, and Cassidy admits he’s been running through line combinations in his head.
“You can’t get too far ahead of other players, but he would be a nice fit,” said Cassidy. “He’s going to be a top six guy, he can play left and right wing, he can score, he’s a big body. He’d be a nice addition. I’m sure any team would say that now. He’s going to make your team better. That’s what you always look at as a coach. Does he make your team better. Then you fit him in. To me, that’s the easy part. The tough part is getting those types of players. I don’t know where Donnie is on it, but he’d make us better.”
Cassidy’s first thought would be to play Kovalchuk on the second line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, though there are options. There’s also the possibility the B’s re-sign Rick Nash.
Cassidy hasn’t yet been part of a pitch to Kovalchuk, but he’d be up for it.
“At some point if he decides we’re interested, I’d hope he wants to have a conversation with the coach. He may not. That’s his prerogative. I’d certainly try to sell him on what we’re trying to do as the Bruins,” said Cassidy. “But these guys watch the games and I think they understand we’re trying to play an exciting brand of hockey. And I think for anybody out there, if they’re thinking of coming to us, we’re close. We’re a team that was in the mix and a team that was considered to have a chance. That’s what I assume most players at his age would want. They want to come back and win a Cup. And I think we’re one of those teams that’s in the conversation.”
There has been much discussion in the offseason about the B’s need to get bigger on the left side of the defense, but Cassidy didn’t disagree that the perceived weakness might have been mitigated a bit had Brandon Carlo (broken ankle) stayed healthy.
“Now, the guy that we’re looking for on the left side is in our lineup on the right side. Even though he is young, Brandon does a good job, he’s a big man. He can play against fast players, he can play against bigger guys,” said Cassidy. “We don’t know the answer to the question. If he’s in there maybe he takes care of a lot things. Again, it’s left and right (defense), but he does bring that element. It’s hard to completely judge us and say that’s a huge hole because we have that. We just need him to stay healthy and play in the playoffs.”
••• Bergeron confirmed he had surgery to repair his injured groin 10 days ago. It’s an 8-10 week recovery period. He expects to be back 100 percent and skating by early August.