Harris: Naming Bruce Cassidy head coach should be Bruins’ first order of business
Stephen Harris
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BEARS WATCHING: After leading the Bruins down the stretch to a playoff berth, Bruce Cassidy is in good position to be named full-time coach.
There will probably be some Bruins drama this offseason regarding the expansion draft, trades and free agency, but there should be absolutely none with Bruce Cassidy.
Cassidy’s final words at his press conference following his team’s elimination game Sunday against Ottawa were that he “absolutely, 100 percent” wants to remain as Bruins coach — minus the interim tag.
The first order of business for general manager Don Sweeney should be making that happen, although, knowing the deliberative nature of the Harvard graduate, he no doubt will want to think it over.
As a brand new GM, Sweeney left Claude Julien hanging for weeks after the 2014-15 season, unsure whether he was staying or going. This time around, why not just close the deal the right way, making it Item No. 1 at the breakup day press conference?
Could the Bruins really leave the job open and have Cassidy be just one of several guys applying and traipsing in for an interview? Crazy.
Because what was there not to admire about Cassidy’s performance in his 33 games behind the bench? After an erratic first four months under Julien, in which the B’s squandered so many easily attainable points that a playoff berth was very much in doubt, Cassidy stepped in Feb. 7 and clearly brought significant change.
Playing with new enthusiasm and confidence, the B’s won their first four games under Cassidy and seven of their first eight. Despite a four-game losing streak that put the playoffs in peril, the team finished with a 6-1-1 run, making them 18-8-1 under the acting coach.
And then in the playoffs, of course, minus half of their top-six defensive corps much of the time — and No. 2 center David Krejci for three-plus games — the undermanned and inexperienced Bruins somehow played six one-goal games with a strong Ottawa team, four decided in overtime.
The 51-year-old Cassidy, described by many who knew him in his youth as one of the most purely talented defensemen ever in Canadian junior hockey — before multiple intrusive knee surgeries ruined his NHL career — is a very impressive character.
We were long supportive here of Claude Julien’s ability as a coach and critical of his firing. But from his first appearance at the Warrior Ice Arena pressroom podium, Cassidy impressed greatly with his intelligence, his good humor and his obvious love of the game. He has a unique ability to articulate his ideas on how hockey should be played so that anyone listening can easily visualize precisely what he means.
What a valuable tool that is for a coach working with a bunch of youngsters.
When a new, fresh voice took over in the Bruins’ room — which is what Sweeney wanted when he canned Julien — the players, young and old, listened.
Cassidy brought a somewhat faster and more open brand of play, yet the team usually stayed sound defensively, certainly in all six playoff contests despite the injuries and inexperience.
“I thought he was great,” said Bruins center Patrice Bergeron after Sunday’s Game 6 loss to the Senators. “I think it shows in the way we responded and the way we played. It’s tough to assess everything that’s happened right now, but I have nothing bad to say about him. I thought he was great and definitely deserves to be back.”
Bruins winger David Backes understood that Cassidy, as much as he wanted to be an NHL head coach again, was tossed into a difficult situation when he replaced Julien.
”We were climbing up hill, certainly, when he took over,” said Backes. “And we made our way in. It wasn’t easy. We had to streak some games together (and) we lost a couple that we really needed. But in the end we were able to pull together as a group. I don’t know how you make an argument against (giving him the job). We had a few less bodies in the playoffs than we’d like, and he’s leading the ship and righting it.
“It’s a tough position for a coach to get into. You’re in the stretch run and all of a sudden he’s got a team in his lap that’s he’s been around, but he’s got to fix what he thinks needs fixing in a short amount of time with, perhaps, some tired guys down the stretch.
“It’s certainly tough. A full year with him, maybe he changes a few things. But he’s done a heck of a job, I think. You know, the results speak for themselves.”
There is a lot for the Bruins to be excited about going forward — and that includes having Cassidy in charge.
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