Bruce Cassidy: The Golden Knights are coming up with a ridiculous excuse to defend themselves

Félix Forget
Bruce Cassidy: The Golden Knights are coming up with a ridiculous excuse to defend themselves
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Bruce Cassidy's story is the talk of the NHL right now. The coach, who was fired by the Golden Knights just before the start of the playoffs, is a hot commodity for the head coaching positions still open across the league.

And given his impressive track record, that's not a huge surprise.

That said, there's a problem: Vegas doesn't want to let Cassidy interview elsewhere, which is a highly unusual move. Usually, such permissions are a mere formality.

And today, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon spoke out publicly to defend his organization. He explained that Vegas isn't letting the coach talk to other teams… because the club's focus is on the playoffs.

Yes, he actually said that.

Obviously, that excuse is pretty ridiculous. Granting permission doesn't exactly take a ton of time… and the GM, who isn't on the ice or behind the bench on game days, has plenty of time to do it. Focusing on the playoffs didn't stop the organization from appealing the penalty in the media availability case, you know.

And the GM even added that he'd spoken to Cassidy about it and that Cassidy understands. But between you and me, I get the feeling that if the NHL Coaches' Association made a public statement today, it's not because the coach is perfectly happy.

McCrimmon at least took his share of the blame for the other story making the rounds in Vegas these days—namely, not speaking to the media after the team's last game. He acknowledged that the organization missed a great opportunity to connect with its fans and celebrate the victory.

But of course, it's mainly the lame excuse used in the Cassidy story that will grab people's attention. Because once again, it feels like Vegas is taking its fans for fools.

It will be interesting to see if Cassidy will be allowed to speak with other teams once the Golden Knights' season is over. But the question is whether teams looking for a coach will be able to afford to wait that long.


In a nutshell

– Speaking of coaches.

– News about Jakub Dobes.

– Some interesting numbers.

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