May 28th: Vegas does not plan to grant teams permission to talk with Cassidy until the end of their run in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Cassidy is believed to have mutual interest with the Oilers and has also fielded interest from the Kings. Kaplan adds that Edmonton could pivot to John Tortorella should Vegas be willing to part with the coach who has led them to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights had originally planned to move on from Tortorella and promote Ryan Craig, head coach of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, but their recent postseason success has complicated that plan. Edmonton will follow that plan very closely as they look to bring in a veteran head coach to replace Kris Knoblauch.
May 19th: The NHL Coaches’ Association (NHLCA) is posturing to involve itself in the repeated instances of the Golden Knights blocking Cassidy from interviewing with the Kings and Oilers. According to a public announcement, the NHLCA said:
“The NHLCA has been closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy. While we respect the League’s rules and processes, it is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their Club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities. It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.“
Although their frustration is understandable, it’s unclear what the NHLCA would do to assist Cassidy. As was previously noted, coaches are often “relieved of duties” rather than “fired”, making them still subject to the obligations outlined in their contract.
May 18th: Despite firing him with eight games remaining in the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights are playing hardball with Bruce Cassidy‘s future. Earlier today, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Golden Knights haven’t given any team permission to interview Cassidy for head coaching vacancies.
Additionally, Andy Strickland of FanDuel Sports Network went a step further, indicating that the Golden Knights blocked the Los Angeles Kings from interviewing the former Jack Adams Award winner. However, that hasn’t been confirmed elsewhere. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if they did, if they haven’t already, given that Vegas blocked the Edmonton Oilers from interviewing their former head coach just a few days ago.
Unless another head coach is fired in the next few weeks, that leaves the Toronto Maple Leafs as the only option left for Cassidy. However, on Friday’s rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “I do think they’ll reach out to talk to Cassidy, but I’d say it’s extremely unlikely he’s gonna end up being the guy in Toronto, and I do think they are prepared to go fresh. Someone new, someone different.”
As unfair as it seems to Cassidy, those are the rules of the coach’s contractual obligations. Although it’s essentially a firing, coaches are often “relieved of duties”, rather than outright fired. This means they are still bound by the contract they signed and continue to receive payment from the team that released them. So, until Cassidy’s contract with the Golden Knights formally ends, any team wishing to interview him will have to put in a formal request.
There remains plenty of speculation regarding the Kings and Maple Leafs, but it does seem the Oilers have moved on from their pursuit of Cassidy. Earlier today, it was confirmed that Edmonton received permission from Toronto to interview Craig Berube, and he appears to be the early favorite for the role.
Ultimately, if Vegas is going to continue to block their intradivisional rivals from hiring Cassidy, he’ll have to wait for another shoe to drop for his next landing spot. Although it’s hardly appropriate to speculate on someone losing their job, Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators and Sheldon Keefe of the New Jersey Devils may be looking for new roles this summer, given that each team will be under new management in the front office.
Vegas continues to be the penises of the NHL
Not to their fans.
They will want compensation!
Probably a 2nd round pick. 😉
That was banned after Canucks got paid for Torts…
Hey Brennan, if you believe that it is “hardly appropriate” to speculate on someone losing their job, why do it only a few words after stating this belief? You seem to have called yourself a liar and/or hypocrite.
Hardly appropriate is different than inappropriate smart guy.
i think it’s BS that a team can control where a coach goes after they fire the coach
If you were paying someone millions of dollars, you may not think it’s BS. Cassidy could just break his contract, not get paid by Vegas, and go find a job.
I think it is funny that you don’t understand even the simplest concepts of contract law.
They fired him…. because he is FIRED, he should be able to work for anyone he wants.
He is under contract with Vegas. He can’t continue to get paid while seeking other NHL employment. Simple concept.
I’ve heard Torts is only there for a playoff run and McCrimmon is bring back Butch …….
That would be a massive upgrade at HC if the Preds were to hire Cassidy.
Low class move by a low class organization.
Not really. I wouldn’t want an inter-division rival talking to my paid employee, at least while we were still playing hockey. You know Cassidy could just break his contract and go look for work right?
# Sand Cry Baby
You think someone is an employee AFTER they are fired? Would you be, if you were fired?
No, he really can’t just “break” his contract. He’d be in breach, and Vegas could seek — and would get — an injunction preventing Cassidy from coaching pending the outcome of a lawsuit, which the bastards would win.
He was removed from his coaching position. His contract was not terminated. Simple stuff.
Why doesn’t Cassidy just break his contract? Everyone says it’s Vegas Vegas, yet he’s getting paid millions “as an employee under contract”.
Just walk away Butch. This is getting old.
You know nothing of the situation other than a few external details, yet you tell a guy to walk away from a bunch of money due to your frustration. Gotta think that you flunked out of financial advisor school in short order and chose your screen name in a fit of irony.
No, he really can’t just “break” his contract. He’d be in breach, and Vegas could seek — and would get — an injunction preventing Cassidy from coaching pending the outcome of a lawsuit, which the b@stards would win.
Sorry to hurt your feelings there Dog. Who crapped in your cornflakes? I was just thinking that if Cassidy really wanted out of his contract, I’m sure something could be arranged.
Besides…no one’s talking to you dude.
Vegas runs like a any corporate business. Have an asset expect compensation for it. I have no problem with it.
Except compensation for coaches has been outlawed…
F corporations!
Pretty much any business, large or small, is a corporation. If you F’d them all you would have no place to purchase goods, services, or entertainment and, in the case of this site, you would be without a place to spew your uninformed yapping.
F corporations f the queen f the patriarchy don the red with a hammer and a sickle in each hand! The workers of the world unite!
Berube. Check.
Now trade Nurse.
When we refuse permission, it is because we have another plan for the candidate, and not because we want something in return. The Knights are still in the playoffs and so they can’t announce anything yet, but we can hypothesize that McCrimmon could retire and be replaced by Cassidy, he is 65 years old and he has nothing left to prove to anyone.
Canucks will promote Malhotra, Kings will hire Woodcroft, Oilers Bérubé & Leafs …
The possibility that’s being overlooked might be that Butch hasn’t terminated his contract because the openings aren’t to his liking. And, if the theory that he is in their plans to take over if Kelly retires is true, that makes sense, as well.
When a team FIRES anyone, they should be free to work for anyone they want.
You can yell and scream as loud as you’d like. Contract law overrules your tantrums.
Yes, when. Cassidy was never “fired.” He was relieved of his duties.
Not sure why an organization would want to pay out millions of dollars to a coach they fired if another team wants to hire him? 🤔
vegas has one of the better front offices in the league .. most teams can’t wait to get the retread they just fired off their books .. but vegas realizes cassidy is in demand .. and can extort some draft capital from someone who wants him bad enough
Actually they cannot.
From The Hockey Writers Website:
“On Jan. 1, 2015, the NHL implemented a new policy to compensate teams that lost an executive or coach due to them being hired by another team while still under contract with their previous club. This new rule only lasted one calendar year before commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the rule would no longer be in effect on Jan. 1, 2016. With this rule lasting an entire year, eight draft picks were awarded to teams during this period. Two second-round picks were awarded, and so were six third-round picks. The final draft pick of those compensatory selections was made in the 2017 Draft, meaning that it has been eight years since a player was selected with a compensatory pick. Enough time has passed to see what these players turned out to be at the NHL level.”
Vegas has to extend Torts now that he got them into the Final.
And if he wins the Cup, he should get 3+ years.
Obviously the NHLCA has next to no clout. I just heard on an interview that if Cassidy even gives up his pay, he still can’t look for a job until Vegas gives him permission. Just thinking that maybe some of these coaches should change the wording in their contracts so that they CAN look for another job, if they are let go by their current employers. This is basically the first time this happened, so I’m wondering if this will change how they word up their clauses in future contracts.
@hockeysense93 do you think they negotiate the terms of the contract b4 signing it?
I would think that is the point of negotiating contracts yes. I don’t think there is just a cookie cut contract that all coaches use.
Isn’t the whole point of a contract…to come to an agreement from both sides?
So Vegas is excercising its rights as stated in a contract and nobody has objections to it. Whats bugging you i dont understand
No no…I just listened to an interview with Cassidy, and he’s pretty miffed at Vegas for holding him back from interviewing for a coaching position. They asked him why he couldn’t just walk away without pay and look for a new job. Apparently it’s in his contract that it would be a breach, and that it wouldn’t change anything other then “not” being paid, and still not aloud to interview for a new job (without their permission). I’m just thinking out loud that maybe coaches will change that in future contract negotiations.
Sorry, I didn’t think it was overly confusing. It’s up to the coach and team to negotiate this stuff in contracts before signing. Like wording states “if I’m fired by said team before my contract expires, I have the right to forego my pay and pursue a new coaching job”. I just wonder if that may be a thing for some coaches in the future.
Cassidy is very well known for being a douche bag to his players. Apparently he was hated in that Vegas room as he was at the end of his tenure in Boston. Makes me wonder what might have been said in his way out.
Sounds like a perfect fit for Vegas, a city filled with the worst people.
According to Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon, The only reason the Cassidy situation is news, Is because the Edmonton Oilers leaked it. Bruce Cassidy is no longer employed by Vegas at the request of the team, Cassidy is still getting paid by Vegas, The Knights are simply exercising there contractual rights that Bruce Cassidy also agreed to, It’s very similar to a NO COMPETE clause that the former head coach signed off on when he became the Lost Wages coach.
Well according to Cassidy himself in an interview, it was him that is saying that he isn’t happy with Vegas for keeping him from pursuing another job. Sure it’s in the contract and all legal. It just hasn’t really happened before (his words). That is why some coaches may actually put in an escape clause in their future contracts.
Vegas had to ask permission from the Flyers to hire Tortorella … and received it. So it follows that their position on Cassidy is blatantly hypocritical … not to mention unprecedented.
Absolutely it is.