By Jordan Long
The Boston Bruins start the regular season on October 3rd when they travel to Dallas to take on the Stars. They are looking for another trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last year only to be knocked off by the St. Louis Blues in 7 games. The Bruins decided to extend Head Coach Bruce Cassidy’s contract. The terms of the deal weren’t announced.
Cassidy took over the Bruins on February 7th, 2017. Boston let go of Claude Julien 55 games into the season. At the time the Bruins were 26-23-6. Boston finished strong in the final 27 games of the year going 18-8-1, making the postseason. They were knocked off in the 1st-round by the Ottawa Senators in 6 games.
In Cassidy’s first full season in 2017-2018, the Bruins went an outstanding 50-20-12. They finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division, making the playoffs. In the 1st-round they knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 games. They were beaten in 5 games by Tampa Bay in the 2nd-round.
Last season, the goal was to make a deeper run in the playoffs. Cassidy guided them to a 49-24-9 record for a total of 107 points. In most divisions, that would have been enough to be in 1st place. Unfortunately, Tampa Bay had one of the most historic seasons in NHL history. They went 62-16-4 for 128 points.
In the postseason, the Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Carolina Hurricanes to reach the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins lost game 7, 4-1.
The Bruins know how valuable Cassidy is to this team. The players listened and bought into his coaching style. In his 4 years in Boston the Bruins are 117-52-22, an impressive winning percentage of .670. They have reached the postseason every year with him.
Boston knew they wanted to keep Cassidy. He is one of the top NHL coaches right now. Cassidy doesn’t have the pressure of coaching in the last year of his deal. Hopefully, Cassidy can take the Bruins to the playoffs again this year but this time, win the Cup.
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