Bruins bringing back Cassidy
BOSTON The Boston Bruins are bringing Bruce Cassidy back next season, dropping the interim tag from his title as a reward for leading the team back to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
Cassidy replaced Claude Julien, the winningest coach in the history of the Original Six franchise, on Feb. 8 and led the team to an 18-8-1 record to finish the season and earn a postseason berth. They were eliminated on Sunday by the Ottawa Senators in six games in the first round.
Julien led the Bruins to the NHL championship in 2011 and back to the Stanley Cup finals in 2013. But they missed the post-season the last two seasons and were out of playoff position on Feb. 8, having lost six of their last nine games, when Julien was fired.
“It was for sure something that shook up the whole team, all of the players, the whole organization,” defenceman Zdeno Chara said. “But I thought that kind of brought a true realization that we needed to be better and was a big wake-up call for everybody.”
Cassidy, 51, had spent five seasons as head coach of the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence before joining Julien’s staff as an assistant this season. He coached the Washington Capitals for parts of two seasons from 2002-04.
A left-handed defenceman and native of Ottawa, Cassidy was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983 who recorded four goals and 13 assists in 36 career NHL games.