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Less than three weeks after the Bruins’ front office propped up Bruce Cassidy as the fall guy for the team’s first-round exit against the Hurricanes — Boston is officially cutting ties with its successful bench boss.
The Bruins officially relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties as head coach on Monday night, with the B’s moving on from a coach who has served at the helm of the franchise since Feb. 7, 2017.
The B’s will begin the search for their next head coach immediately.
“Today I informed Bruce Cassidy that I was making a head coaching change,” Sweeney said. “After 14 years working with Bruce, this was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank and acknowledge Bruce for all his work and success with the Bruins organization. His head coaching record for the Bruins is impressive, and we are appreciative of Bruce both professionally and personally.
"After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice. I want to wish Bruce, Julie, Shannon and Cole much success as a family and with their future opportunities.”
“Bruce has been a fantastic coach and has helped this team win many games and achieve success over his tenure behind the bench,” Cam Neely added. “I also want to extend my gratitude to Bruce and his family for everything they’ve done over the years to support the New England community and Bruins organization. We wish them continued success in the future.
"I have the utmost confidence in Don to conduct a thorough search to identify the best candidate that is going to help our team reach its full potential.”
In his six seasons as head coach of the Bruins, Cassidy compiled a record of 245-108-46 — good for a .672 winning percentage. Along with guiding Boston to a Stanley Cup Final appearance, Cassidy led Boston to six straight playoff appearances, with all but two of them advancing beyond the first round.
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