Report: Oilers seek permission to interview Bruce Cassidy for possible coaching change
A former coach has earned interest from a previous rival.
According to insider Frank Seravalli, the Edmonton Oilers are seeking permission to interview former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy. However, the Golden Knights have denied such requests.
Cassidy was fired by the Golden Knights in late March, with just eight games left in the regular season, with veteran bench boss John Tortorella taking over in the interim. Yet, even with Cassidy no longer serving behind the bench, he’s still under contract with Vegas.
The one kicker behind the report is that, as of now, Kris Knoblauch is still the Oilers’ head coach. However, there is some speculation that the team is willing to go in a different direction after Edmonton was shockingly eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks. Knoblauch has been with the Oilers since the early months of the 2023-24 campaign. He helped guide the team out of early-season ruts in each of his three seasons on the job, with the Oilers reaching the Stanley Cup Final in both of the previous two seasons, ultimately losing to the Florida Panthers both times.
Cassidy unquestionably has a winning pedigree. If you ignore his terrible first experience as an NHL head coach with the Washington Capitals in the early part of the century, he has been one of the top coaches in the league. He led the Boston Bruins to six straight postseasons, including the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. After he was let go by the Bruins at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, he was hired by the Golden Knights, and coached the team to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2023, beating the Oilers along the way.
Cassidy was fired by the Golden Knights with the team sitting at a record of 32-26-16. Vegas turned things around under Tortorella, leapfrogging the Oilers and Ducks to claim the top spot in the Pacific Division.
It would be interesting to see Cassidy behind the bench in Edmonton. The Oilers and Golden Knights have been the top two teams in the Pacific for the past several years, consistently fighting for first place in the division.