There was a bit of surprising news to report out of the National Hockey League earlier this week, and it’s something that actually could benefit the Detroit Red Wings. The Boston Bruins have made the decision to fire head coach Bruce Cassidy, who becomes the 2nd high-profile head coach to be terminated after the 2021-22 regular season after Barry Trotz earned his pink slip from the New York Islanders.
#NHLBruins announce they’ve fired coach Bruce Cassidy.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 6, 2022
Cassidy’s termination comes after Boston’s seven-game opening-round Stanley Cup Playoffs loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, despite 51 regular-season victories. He had been behind Boston’s bench since February of 2017 and led the Bruins to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues.
Could this be a potential target for Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman? The thought has crossed the mind of The Athletic‘s Fluto Shinzawa:
Bruce Cassidy will have his pick of employers. I think he would be intrigued at building something long-term in Detroit.
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) June 10, 2022
Hiring Bruce Cassidy would benefit the Red Wings
Bringing aboard Cassidy would certainly work out well for the Red Wings, considering the fact that their team goals-against average was at the very bottom of the NHL as a whole as the 2021-22 season came to a close. The team routinely gave up goals seemingly at will to the opposition, highlighted by embarrassing setbacks of 9-2 and 11-2 against the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. There was also the wild 10-7 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at home.
However, something that could be considered a con of potentially Cassidy hiring would be the fact that according to Bruins president Cam Neely, younger players on the roster were “afraid” to make mistakes:
“There is some of that. There’s no question, players being afraid to make mistakes,” said Neely on May 19. “Especially younger players. Because you hear about it. I was one of those players. I had to learn and grow. I heard about it too when I made mistakes as a younger player. You can’t worry about not getting back out there. I think that’s one of the things we have to change. When younger players make mistakes, they’re worried they’re not going to play the next game. Well, that game is still going on.”
Detroit’s roster is full of younger players, none of whom are more important right now than Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, the former of which is up for the Calder Trophy.
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We’ll be keeping our attention focused on what Yzerman’s next move will be.
