There were few surprises during Don Sweeney’s morning address at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday.
The B’s general manager, who elevated Cassidy from assistant coach to lead bench boss in 2017 and ushered in a new contention window, offered praise for Cassidy’s coaching resume and his impact on the franchise — while acknowledging the painful conversation he conducted on Monday afternoon.
“Not well, as I didn’t [when] delivering it,” Sweeney said when asked how Cassidy took the news. “I sat there and said, ‘I’m the same guy that six years ago sat with you to believe in you,’ and I sat there yesterday believing in him as an excellent head coach.
Sweeney, to the surprise of just about no one, kept all options open when it came to the future of this franchise ahead of a pivotal summer, both acknowledging the uncertain status of Patrice Bergeron and the number of key cogs like Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy that are currently sidelined due to surgery — but also offering a flickering sense of optimism about this flawed roster’s ability to contend in 2022-23.
And, perhaps in the least surprising development of all, Sweeney didn’t exactly offer much clarity when it came to presenting a concrete rationale for Cassidy’s dismissal.
If one was to try and read the tea leaves following Sweeney’s address, it seems as though the main factor that influenced his decision to part ways with Cassidy had more to do with the overall need for a new voice in the room — with other facets like an augmented offensive gameplan and other X’s and O’s talking points standing as secondary concerns.
“A lot of things happened over the course of the year and where I thought the direction of our team was currently and equally with some of the surgeries and some of the things coming out where our team was going to be going forward and impacting our club, I just felt that the messaging and voice that was going to be required," Sweeney said. "I felt we needed a new direction.”
The logic is there for the Bruins, especially if Cassidy had managed to ruffle feathers and lose the support of some veteran, franchise pillars due to his demanding ways and propensity to take players to task through musings with the media.
But when asked if Cassidy has lost the proverbial “room” by the end of the season, Sweeney pushed back.
“No. No. You don’t go out and get 107 points and win 51 games if players aren’t responding to you," Sweeney said. "That just doesn’t happen. He’s able to push the buttons that are necessary. But it takes its toll over the course of time. You have to find a way to deliver that message a little differently or the personnel changes and you cycle it out. That’s a little bit of the cycle of what happens.”
Of course, one narrative that has been propped up since Monday night is a potential concession made by management in order to appease players like Bergeron and David Krejci and goad them to return if Cassidy was sent packing.
But in an interview with Le Journal de Quebec on Tuesday, Bergeron acknowledged that he had no say in Cassidy’s dismissal.
"It's completely unfounded, so I won't put any energy into it,” Bergeron noted. “It's a waste of time and it's really stupid speculation."
Perhaps the Bruins felt as though Cassidy wasn't going to change his ways for a team that is almost certainly going to be going through growing pains in 2022 and likely beyond?
Well, not exactly.
“I think Bruce has evolved,” Sweeney said. “I’ve been working with Bruce for 14 years. I’ve watched him grow into – and it’s the reason why he was hired six years ago – or I promoted him six years ago. Because I knew what his skillset as a coach was.
“As far as evolving, I think his confidence as a head coach and the messaging that he wants to deliver, I think is exactly as he wants it to be. Has it changed with the group that’s still here and is it as effective with the group that’s here? That was my determination. Not as effective as it was. Doesn’t mean it’s going to be less effective somewhere else. Because I do believe he’s a good coach and is going to have a similar winning percentage elsewhere.”
So, Sweeney and the Bruins. …
- Don’t believe that Cassidy lost the room.
- Don’t believe that he wasn’t willing to augment and tweak his systems to work with a reshuffled roster.
- Still think Cassidy is an established and effective bench boss.
So … what gives then?
Maybe the Bruins are ready and willing to accept a full-blown rebuild and will pursue a younger coach that’s prepared to roll with the punches and accept a few lean years.
That might be the only avenue that justifies canning a coach with Cassidy’s resume.
Because if Monday’s decision was just a shake-up for the sake of disrupting the status quo (or a flawed half measure designed to save Sweeney's skin and deflect from years of poor drafting and asset management), then any talk about the need for a “new voice” is going to ring pretty hollow.