One has to wonder whether the recent success of the Vegas Golden Knights has more to do with John Tortorella becoming head coach than with Bruce Cassidy no longer being head coach. If the latter, this could be cause for pause if you’re the Edmonton Oilers.
Rumored to be waiting on an interview with Cassidy that may never come, the Oilers are reportedly interviewing several candidates. Still, Cassidy is “their guy.” He’s target No. 1, and only if he’s not available will the Oilers move on to other options.
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Maybe that’s best, given the way the series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche has gone.
Down 3-0 in the Western Conference Final, Colorado is being outplayed and outworked by a Golden Knights team that is firing on all cylinders under Tortorella. This is the same team that, just a couple of short months ago, had Cassidy calling the shots, and they looked iffy about making the playoffs at all.
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Buffalo Sabres columnist Mike Harrington posted, “Man, this Vegas team must have HATED Bruce Cassidy to be playing like this for Torts. When somebody gets permission to talk to Cassidy, you wonder if this gives them pause at all.”
This is just one person’s opinion, but it’s a valid argument. It certainly raises questions. How is it that one team (the same team) can buy in so feverishly under one coach with a reputation for holding players accountable, but not another?
Did the message wear thin? Did Cassidy lose the room? Or, does it have little to do with Cassidy and this is more about Vegas stepping up in crunch time, and buying in during a playoff run? Maybe it wasn’t about the coach, but about the games meaning more.
Maybe the Oilers Aren’t Worried…
One fan responded, “They needed a mental reset. With Cassidy, he was too close to the situation to figure it out. It happens. Torts came in totally objectively with a clear view of the situation and set their minds straight. Bruce is a great coach and will have no trouble getting another HC job.”
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Another wrote, “They loved Cassidy. However they just needed a reset. It was the same nonsense every press conference and nothing was changing. He would say we need to do something and it wouldn’t change. The team probably just got tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.”
Those two takes could also be true.
Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Like Kris Knoblauch in Edmonton, he was once the right fit at the right time with this Oilers group. Last season? Not so much. The style didn’t mesh with the group and where they were at, so Edmonton made a change. That’s not to say Knoblauch is bad coach.
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Cassidy is clearly a solid bench boss. If he wasn’t, the Golden Knights wouldn’t be toying with the idea of paying his salary in full not to coach elsewhere. No team does that if they truly believe he had lost his magical Stanley Cup touch.
Perhaps none of this matters if the Oilers never get a chance to formally interview him. Chris Johnston noted, “I think the Oilers are going to have to wait and see with Bruce Cassidy; if not, you’re choosing between [Craig] Berube, [Peter] Laviolette, maybe there’s a mystery box…”
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