Blocked from interviewing with the Edmonton Oilers and L.A. Kings, coach Bruce Cassidy said the Vegas Golden Knights' decision is upsetting. When will Vegas change course?
The saga of veteran coach Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights took another turn Thursday.
On the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, Cassidy made it clear he wasn't happy with the Golden Knights' decision not to allow him to talk to other teams about their coaching opening.
"It's upsetting," Cassidy said before explaining that coach contracts have non-compete clauses. "I can't resign today and go work for someone tomorrow. I can't work until Vegas gives me permission (or) until this contract's up, which is at the end of next season."
"There was two teams that asked – that's public knowledge now – and I would like to talk to them," Cassidy added later. "I want to go to work. I'm a hockey coach."
The teams Cassidy is likely talking about are the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. They're two Pacific Division rivals of the Golden Knights, but they clearly see the value in Cassidy. Vegas clearly sees the value in the coach it fired, too, considering it's blocking him from working on another team's coaching staff.
"I've talked to (Vegas GM) Kelly McCrimmon – listen, we've had a good relationship with George (McPhee) and Bill Foley, and there was never anything adversarial at all; we all won a Cup together," Cassidy said. "So that's not the issue. They just decided they don't want me working at certain places, and I got to figure out a way to allow me to do that."
Cassidy shouldn't have to figure out how to resolve this situation. The front office should just grant him permission.
We know that McCrimmon said Cassidy "understands" the team's decision while it focuses on the playoffs, but Cassidy's words on Thursday confirmed he clearly doesn't agree with it.
The fact the Oilers and Kings are still searching for their next coach suggests strongly that they're waiting to see whether Cassidy will be made available after the playoffs.
Cassidy also told Leafs Nation he'd be open to coaching in Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs also need a new coach, but it's less likely that Cassidy is the right fit for the Leafs and where they are in their competitive cycle.
That turns the focus to the Oilers and Kings. They are in win-now mode, and Cassidy is well-suited for a Stanley Cup contender.
We've heard McCrimmon try to justify the decision to prevent Cassidy from finding a new job, but we've also heard from the NHL Coaches' Association, which said it's unprecedented at the head coaching level for a team to deny a coach permission to speak with multiple teams.
That's a shame, as we don't see any reasonable explanation for the Golden Knights stopping Cassidy from finding a new job.
It's not like the Kings or Oilers will be playing Vegas in the Stanley Cup final. It's not like Cassidy being hired by Edmonton or Los Angeles right now would give them a competitive leg up in the draft or development process. He'd be hired by the Kings or Oilers explicitly to coach. And that process wouldn't see him on the ice coaching in games until next season.
So any notion the Golden Knights would suffer by allowing Cassidy to be hired elsewhere right now is a fact-free notion that gets worse with every passing day.
The Oilers, Kings and Leafs won't wait forever to choose their next bench boss, and this is why it's paramount the Golden Knights allow Cassidy to interview for a new job. This is the guy who led Vegas to its only Cup championship in the team's history. This is someone who deserves more respect than what the Knights are showing him.
Just because Vegas can do something to restrict Cassidy's employment before his contract with them expires doesn't mean Vegas should've done it. They have time before the Stanley Cup final starts. It's time to grant him permission to talk to Edmonton and Los Angeles.
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