Bruce Cassidy reveals he's open to coaching one specific Canadian team
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Bruce Cassidy told The Athletic he was open to coaching the Maple Leafs, but Toronto hired Jim Hiller instead after a month-long search.
Bruce Cassidy wanted back in the NHL this summer, and he made it clear the Toronto Maple Leafs were on his list.
The former Vegas Golden Knights coach told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel he would consider any job that opened up and would talk to Toronto if Vegas allowed it.
The Leafs ultimately went with Jim Hiller.
The Golden Knights fired Cassidy on March 29 with eight games left in the regular season and handed the job to John Tortorella.
Vegas then blocked him from speaking with the Oilers and Kings, which left Toronto as the one other team with a vacancy.
Why the Cassidy idea made sense
On paper, the fit was easy to like.
Cassidy won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023 and went 178-99-43 there.
The Leafs had just fired Craig Berube after missing the postseason for the first time in nine years, and new GM John Chayka was the one picking the replacement.
The Athletic argued Toronto should hold off on a hire until Cassidy got a chance to talk, with the Stanley Cup Final set to wrap by June 17.
Not everyone bought that. Elliotte Friedman reported that a Cassidy hire looked like a long shot.
How the Leafs landed on Hiller
Toronto took its time, and after a month-long search the team named Hiller the 41st head coach in franchise history on June 17.
He was fired by the Kings in March and was an assistant on Mike Babcock's staff in Toronto from 2015 to 2019, so he already knew Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly.
Cassidy did not get the job, and Hiller is the one running the Leafs bench this season.
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