Bruce Cassidy

Bruce Cassidy (born May 20, 1965 in Ottawa, Ontario) was a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a defenceman, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the former ice hockey coach of the Washington Capitals.

Playing Career
Cassidy was a defenceman who played in the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67's from 1982–1985, and he was selected by the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, selected in the 1st round, 18th overall. Cassidy's best OHL season was in 1982–83, when he registered 25 goals and 86 assists for 111 points. He won the Memorial Cup under coach Brian Kilrea in 1984 scoring 12 points. At the age of 19, he made his NHL debut with the Black Hawks in March 1984. During the years of 1984–1988, he had 3 knee surgeries, including major reconstruction of his ACL.

Between 1985–1990, Cassidy would spend most of his time in the Hawks minor league system, playing with the Nova Scotia Oilers of the American Hockey League, the Saginaw Generals of the International Hockey League, the Saginaw Hawks of the IHL and the Indianapolis Ice, also in the IHL. Cassidy's NHL playing career was limited due to his knee surgeries. Yet, Cassidy would play 36 games with Chicago during those years, scoring 4 goals and adding 13 assists for 17 points, along with 10 PIM.

After winning the Turner Cup in the IHL, Cassidy then signed with Alleghe HC in Italy, and played 2 years with the club from 1990–93 in the Italian Ice Hockey League, appearing in 51 games, while getting 117 points (35G-82A).

After his stint in Italy, Cassidy then spent the 1993–94 season with Kaufbeuren of the German Hockey League, getting 17 points (8G-9A) in 35 games.

Career Statistics
--- Regular Season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1982-83 Ottawa 67's                 OHL    70   25   86  111   33   9   3   9  12  10 1983-84 Ottawa 67's                 OHL    67   27   68   95   58  13   6  16  22   6 1983-84 Chicago Black Hawks          NHL     1    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1984-85 Ottawa 67's                 OHL    28   13   27   40   15  --  --  --  --  -- 1985-86 Nova-Scotia Oilers          AHL     4    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1985-86 Chicago Black Hawks          NHL     1    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1986-87 Canadian National Team      Intl   12    3    6    9    4 1986-87 Saginaw Generals            IHL    10    2   13   15    6   2   1   1   2   0 1986-87 Nova-Scotia Oilers          AHL    19    2    8   10    4  --  --  --  --  -- 1986-87 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL     2    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1987-88 Saginaw Hawks               IHL    60    9   37   46   59  10   2   3   5  19 1987-88 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    21    3   10   13    6  --  --  --  --  -- 1988-89 Saginaw Hawks               IHL    72   16   64   80   80   6   0   2   2   6 1988-89 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL     9    0    2    2    4   1   0   0   0   0 1989-90 Indianapolis Ice            IHL    75   11   46   57   56  14   1  10  11  20 1989-90 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL     2    1    1    2    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1990-91 Alleghe HC                  Italy  36   23   52   75   20 1992-93 Alleghe HC                  Italy  25   12   30   42   10 1993-94 Kaufbeuren ESV              1.GBu  33    8    9   17   12 1994-95 Indianapolis Ice            IHL    29    2   13   15   16  --  --  --  --  -- 1995-96 Indianapolis Ice            IHL    56    5   16   21   46   5   1   0   1   4 1996-97 Indianapolis Ice            IHL    10    0    4    4   11  --  --  --  --  -- --        NHL Totals                         36    4   13   17   10   1   0   0   0   0

Coaching Career
Cassidy then returned to the Blackhawks organization with the Indianapolis Ice from 1994–97 before retiring as a player 10 games into the 96–97 season to take a head coaching job with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings of the ECHL in midseason. Cassidy took over the team which started the year 6–12–2, and led them to a 15–25–10 record.

The Lizard Kings greatly improved in Cassidy's 2nd year with the team, as they finished with a record of 35-29-6, with 76 points.

In 1998–99, Cassidy was promoted to head coach of the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL, the club finished the year at 33-37-12=78 points and qualified for the playoffs. In the first round, they played the heavily favoured Cincinnati Cyclones in a best of 3 series, and the Cyclones won the opening game 4-2. The Ice came back and won the 2nd game 4-3 in OT, and then took the series by winning 1-0 in game 3 in Cincinnati. In the 2nd round, the Ice fell 3 games to 1 to the Detroit Vipers and were eliminated from the playoffs.

As the Ice folded after the 98–99 season, Cassidy took the head coaching job with the expansion Trenton Titans of the ECHL, and led them to a 37-29-4 record, good for 4th place in the Northeast Division. The Titans made short work of the Richmond Renegades in the 1st round, sweeping them 3 games to 0. In the 2nd round, they faced off against the Hampton Roads Admirals, and beat them 3 games to 2. The Titans would then fall 4 games to 2 to the Peoria Rivermen, in the semi-finals.

Cassidy then moved to the Ottawa Senators organization, and became head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL. The club finished with the best record in the league (53–22–7, 113 points), and they swept the Cleveland Lumberjacks in 4 games before falling to the Orlando Solar Bears in 6 games in the semi-finals.

Cassidy returned to Grand Rapids for the 2001–02 season, leading them to another division title with a 42–27–11=95 pts record, but the team lost in the first round to the Chicago Wolves in 5 games.

The Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League took notice of Cassidy's success in the minors and hired him to become the head coach of the club in 2002–03. The Capitals finished 2nd place in the Southeast with a 39–29–8–6=92 pts record, and took on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs. The Capitals won the first 2 games in Tampa Bay, however, the Lightning rebounded and won 4 in a row to eliminate the Capitals from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Cassidy returned in 2003–04, he was 25 games into the season with an 8–16–1 record when he was let go from the Washington Capitals and replaced by assistant coach Glen Hanlon. The club would go on and finish with the 2nd worst record in the league under Glen Hanlon (23-46-10-3=59 pts), but won the 1st overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and chose Alexander Ovechkin.

Cassidy signed on as an assistant coach with the Blackhawks in June 2004, but his contract was not renewed for the 2006–07 season given his better fit as a head coach. He was hired by the Kingston Frontenacs on July 12, 2006. On September 10, 2006, in a pre-season exhibition game between Kingston and Ottawa, Cassidy got the chance to coach against his former coach and mentor Kilrea; the Frontenacs lost 4–3, thanks to Ottawa's 3-point men Matt Lahey and Thomas Kiriakou, who each had two goals and an assist. During the regular season, Cassidy quickly rebounded in the home opener and beat his former proud mentor by 9–5.

During his first season as head coach, the Frontenacs would finish with a 31–30–7 record, earning them 69 points and 5th place in the Eastern Conference. The Fronts would face the Oshawa Generals in the first round of the playoffs, and would be eliminated in 5 games.

Cassidy returned to Kingston to begin the 2007–08 season, however, after a rough 2–9–1 start to the season, he was let go from the Frontenacs and replaced by Larry Mavety. Cassidy finished with a 33–39–8 record with the club.

Providence Bruins (2008–2016)
Cassidy joined the Providence Bruins of the AHL as an assistant coach in the 2008–09 season under head coach Rob Murray. Cassidy held this position for three years before being promoted to head coach of the team for the 2011–12 season after Murray was fired.

During his first season as head coach, the club posted a 35–34–7 record, earning 77 points and failing to qualify for the playoffs.

In his second season with Providence in 2012–13, the Bruins had the best record in the AHL, going 50–21–5 for 105 points, securing first place in the Atlantic Division. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins defeated the Hershey Bears in five games, setting up a second-round series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Providence took a commanding 3–0 lead in the best-of-seven series, however, the Penguins mounted a comeback, and won the final four games to upset the Bruins in seven games.

Providence made the playoffs once again in 2013–14, finishing with a 40–25–11 record, earning 91 points and seventh place in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, the Bruins upset the second seeded Springfield Falcons in five games, before again losing to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in seven games in the second round.

In 2014–15, Cassidy led the Bruins to their third consecutive season with 40 or more victories, as Providence earned a 41–26–9 record, getting 91 points, as the club finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Bruins lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack in five games, losing the final game in overtime to be eliminated.

During the 2015–16 season, Cassidy led the team to a 41–22–13 record with them finishing in fourth place in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. The team lost the Division Semifinals to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in three games.

Boston Bruins (2016–present)
On May 24, 2016, Cassidy joined the Boston Bruins as assistant coach for the 2016–17 season. On February 7, 2017, he was named interim head coach after head coach Claude Julien was fired, and on April 26, the Bruins named him the new head coach.[3] In his first full year as Bruins head coach, he led the team to a 50–20–12 regular season record, collecting 112 points and securing the second seed in the Atlantic Division. In the playoffs, his team defeated their rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4–3 and advanced to the second round against Tampa Bay Lightning, losing in five games.

In the 2018–19 season, Cassidy led the Bruins to an appearance in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, where the team lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games. On September 11, 2019, he signed a multi-year contract extension.

In the shortened 2019–20 season, Cassidy coached the Bruins to a 44–14–12 record for 100 points, capturing the Presidents' Trophy for the third time in franchise history. The Bruins went on to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round for the second time in three seasons. Cassidy was named the winner of the 2019-2020 Jack Adams Award, given to the best NHL coach annually.

Awards

 * Jack Adams Award, 2019-2020 NHL season