Don’t Be Surprised if Bruce Cassidy Joins Winnipeg Jets Coaching Search
Before the NHL announced that Winnipeg Jets forward, Kyle Connor won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and the Colorado Avalanche completed their four-game sweep over the Edmonton Oilers to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Boston Bruins made an announcement that caught many by surprise.
The Bruins announced that Bruce Cassidy has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the team. He has held that position since the middle of the 2016-2017 season after Claude Julien was fired.
The fifty-seven-year-old Cassidy now joins Barry Trotz and Peter DeBoer among the high-profile coaches who have been fired this summer
Do not be surprised if Bruce Cassidy becomes a candidate in the Winnipeg Jets head coach search
Since Cassidy has taken over in Boston only one team in the NHL has a higher winning percentage than the Bruins in that time frame. That team is the current back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Also, the Bruins have made the postseason every season since Cassidy’s arrival. Their best finish under Cassidy was in 2019 when they were the Eastern Conference Champions, but they ultimately fell in the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.
There are some similarities between the Winnipeg Jets and Bruins rosters that can make Cassidy a good fit for the Jets.
The Bruins lineup was a mix of great veterans and solid younger players. You see the likes of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron along with David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Cassidy got the best out of all these players, consistently finishing near the top of the division standings and making the postseason year after year.
Cassidy may be able to switch around the Jets’ lineup and manage the veteran players like Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, who are coming off subpar seasons, and integrate the Jets’ best younger talent that includes Cole Perfetti, Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg, and Morgan Barron to make the Jets a complete team.
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Cassidy will without a doubt be a highly sought after coach this offseason and I would not be surprised if we see Kevin Cheveldayoff interview him in the near future.
