Bruce Cassidy likely won't win coach of the year, but proved why he was a deserving candidate

Gerard Gallant all but locked up the NHL's Jack Adams Award for coach of the year months ago, and it'd be a shocker if the Golden Knights bench boss didn't win it Wednesday night in, yes, Las Vegas.

Now that we got that out of the way, it's time to make the case for Bruce Cassidy, who's in contention for the award along with the Colorado Avalanche's Jared Bednar. Cassidy joins Patrice Bergeron, who is up for the Selke Trophy for the seemingly millionth time, as Bruins nominated for annual awards. If Bergeron wins the award for the league's best defensive forward, it'll be his fifth time – which would be the most all-time.

Back to Cassidy, though. Being nominated for the Adams Award is a great honor he will likely cherish whether he wins or not, but it's hard to see how anybody can be picked other than Gallant, considering the great magic he conjured when the Golden Knights made it to the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season. Take a bow, exit stage left.

What Cassidy was able to accomplish this season, though, was special in its own respect. When the Bruins were eliminated by the Lightning in the second round of the playoffs, there seemed to be a genuine feeling of pride in what the team accomplished and what remains on the horizon.

"We had some adversity early on, and I thought our guys battled through that," Cassidy said after the Bruins were eliminated. "That’s a credit to the veteran players in the room and a credit to the young guys for stepping up and being able to handle that limelight and the challenge in front of them."

Cassidy's words there, in essence, captured the entire season. It wasn't cliche coach-speak.



The Bruins clearly committed to integrating younger, faster players with their veteran core. At the start of the year, it seemed like the Bruins had a clunky mix of youth and aging veterans. It was like they had one foot in the rebuilding pool and another in their past, trying to accomplish the evergreen challenge of staying young but also successful all at once.

There were challenges early on in the season. Early injuries knocked Patrice Bergeron and David Backes out of the lineup. The Bruins were at times searching for the right line combinations to get the best result on the ice. Remember Riley Nash as the first-line center? Tuukka Rask was 3-8-2 in his first 13 games and Anton Khudobin was looking like the Bruins steady netminder.

Of course, the Bruins figured it out and Cassidy guided the team to find that right balance. They were buoyed by a blazing stretch they rode into the All-Star break, when they went 14-0-4, an 18-game point streak that was the longest team streak in 49 years.

"If it's an emotional roller coaster where the team goes one way one night, then the other, it's a nightmare for a coach," said Hockey Night in Canada analyst Louie DeBrusk. "That stretch, when they didn't get beat, their games all looked the same. If you pushed play on one game and pushed play on another game five games later, it was like the same game. When they got into a rhythm, and I don't know this for a fact, but if you asked Bruce Cassidy, he would've said 'our structure is so good.' And when your big guys come to play, you're unbeatable."

By the end of the season, the Bruins found the right stride. The line of Brad Marchand, Bergeron, and David Pastrnak was one of the best in the league. Rookie Jake DeBrusk transformed into a dependable left wing for David Krejci's line. They had a solid third line, though Riley Nash struggled with a concussion down the stretch that limited him in the playoffs. During the postseason, unlikely candidates like Sean Kuraly stepped up and made an impact.

There's still a bit of work to do in the offseason. As it stands the Bruins won't have their starting third-line center or second-line right wing under contract once Riley Nash and Rick Nash become unrestricted free agents. They could be eager to boost the defense after they were exposed by other teams' secondary scoring in the playoffs.

The Bruins are confident they have the right man for the job and Cassidy proved it this year. When Cassidy took over two years ago late in the year when the Bruins fired Claude Julien, he led the team to an 18-8 record and a playoff appearance. He proved his success wasn't a stroke of luck. Now the challenge will be building on it moving forward.