NHL Rumors: Bruce Cassidy Wants To Coach In Canada

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 , ,
Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy reacts during 2025 media availability.

Bruce Cassidy appeared on Leafs Morning Take and said something interesting.

Asked whether he had ever thought about what it would be like to coach in Canada, the 60-year-old who won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 did not hesitate.

"Yeah, it would be kind of cool to do it," Cassidy said. "I tell you what would be cool: to win a Stanley Cup in a Canadian city right now because it's been a while. That would be something else."

He then spoke on how he approaches decisions about his next job.

"Usually the first thing you think of is the market, does the team have a chance, how does it impact your family, then you worry about the city later. Is ownership solid, things like that."

Cassidy was fired by the Golden Knights with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season after a difficult campaign that saw Vegas fall out of the playoff picture.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman described a "frayed relationship" between Cassidy and Golden Knights players stemming from the previous spring's playoff series against the Oilers, where Edmonton eliminated Vegas in five games.

With one year remaining on his five-year, $4.5 million per year contract, teams must seek permission from Vegas to speak with him.

He is widely considered one of the best available coaches in the market right now.

The Resume and the Questions

Cassidy has four first-place finishes in his last seven seasons as a head coach, a Stanley Cup, a Jack Adams Award, and a career win percentage of .630 across stops in Washington, Boston, and Vegas.

He took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019 and built them into a consistent Presidents' Trophy contender before Boston moved on from him in 2022, a decision that looked questionable within months when he promptly won the Cup in his first season in Vegas.

There are questions about what happened behind the scenes in the back half of his time with the Golden Knights.

The frayed relationships Friedman referenced did not emerge overnight, and any team considering Cassidy will need to look at his proven ability to win against his track record in the locker room over the long term.

Toronto specifically has gone through two coaching eras in recent years with Sheldon Keefe and Craig Berube that each ran their course in different ways, and the new GM whoever that turns out to be will be the one deciding whether Cassidy's name even enters the conversation.

What It Would Mean for the Maple Leafs

The Leafs are in an unusual position heading into this offseason.

They are without a GM, without clarity on whether Berube returns, and without any real organizational direction that makes coaching searches much easier.

The lottery is eight days away and the franchise does not yet know who will be running the front office when the pick is made.

Cassidy acknowledged the Maple Leafs situation during his appearance and said he has not done a deep dive into Canadian markets specifically, but the fact that he appeared on a Leafs-focused program and gave the answers he gave is something to take note of.

Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images 

Go To: NFL Rumors | NBA Rumors | MLB Rumors