Boston Bruins
“I’m getting paid money to sit at home. Well, I’d rather go to work, to be honest.”
Bruce Cassidy is still looking to land an NHL coaching job elsewhere this summer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
June 11, 2026 | 6:49 AM
3 minutes to read
It remains to be seen if the Vegas Golden Knights will grant Bruce Cassidy permission to interview for other head coaching vacancies this offseason.
But if Vegas — which has already reportedly blocked interviews for Cassidy to interview with both the Kings and Oilers— has a change of heart, the former Bruins head coach could be willing to return to the Atlantic Division.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel on Wednesday, Cassidy said that he’s open to several coaching opportunities — including an open spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“The 61-year-old told The Athletic this week that he would ‘have interest in any opening’ and was open to speaking to the Leafs, if allowed, to see if the fit was right on both sides,” Siegel wrote.
While the Golden Knights were not willing to let Cassidy interview with a pair of teams in their own Pacific Division in Los Angeles and Edmonton, that sentiment might shift if a team in the Eastern Conference comes calling.
Cassidy, 61, was surprisingly fired by the Golden Knights with just eight games to go in the regular season — with Vegas replacing him with John Tortorella en route to a run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Since then, the Golden Knights haven’t been willing to let Cassidy interview with other teams — even after handing him a pink slip months ago.
The Golden Knights do have the ability to limit Cassidy’s coaching opportunities for the upcoming 2026-27 season, given that Cassidy is still technically under contract for next year.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Michael Russo last week, Cassidy said that he’d be willing to forfeit the $5 million the Golden Knights are on the hook to pay him in 2026-27 if it means he’d get the chance to resume coaching next year.
“I’m getting paid money to sit at home,” Cassidy told Russo. “Well, I’d rather go to work, to be honest. I would. I’d rather earn it. So that’s my position on that. I’d give (the salary) up tomorrow and bet on myself if that freed me up to go interview, but it doesn’t. So that’s the problem.
“I’d quit and give up the money. It doesn’t let me go to work, though. I’m still waiting for Vegas to let me go. They just get off the hook for salary. I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to do that. But if it was that easy, I would’ve done it a month ago, to be honest, and bet on myself, because I know there’s some openings out there — teams that have asked.”
While the Golden Knights have yet to shift their standing on Cassidy’s coaching opportunities, the Kings have already hired Peter Laviolette as their next bench boss, while the Oilers have reportedly expressed interest in hiring Mike Babcock.
Cassidy’s track record speaks for itself as a head coach who has found success at several stops, including the Bruins and Golden Knights.
During Cassidy’s six seasons as head coach of the Bruins, Boston went 245-108-46, made the playoffs all six seasons, and advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2019.
The Bruins fired Cassidy at the end of the 2021-22 season after Boston fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Cassidy was hired by the Golden Knights a little over a week after he and the Bruins parted ways. He led Vegas to a Stanley Cup title in his first year at the helm.
In his four seasons with the Golden Knights, Cassidy sported a 178-99-43 record.
Cassidy’s return to the Atlantic would cause some headaches for the Bruins, even though the Maple Leafs might be staring at a long-term rebuild or retool after a disastrous 32-26-14 record in 2025-26.
Boston should be holding out hope for a few rough seasons in Toronto, as the Bruins still hold Toronto’s future first-round pick — likely in 2028 — after the Leafs retained their own first-round selection this year by winning the NHL Draft Lottery.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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