Insiders Update Vegas' Plans With Bruce Cassidy

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy

It's Bruce Cassidy's 61st birthday today. But he's no closer to being gifted a new job in the NHL.

It was leaked last week that the Vegas Golden Knights denied the Edmonton Oilers permission to speak with their fired head coach (who is still under contract) for Edmonton's vacancy behind the bench.

Now it's being confirmed by insider Andy Strickland on the Cam & Strick podcast that the Golden Knights also denied the Los Angeles Kings permission to talk to Cassidy.

Is Vegas being petty over Bruce Cassidy? 👀

The boys broke it down on Mondays episode ⬇️@CamJanssen25 @andystrickland

🎧: https://t.co/usZ5iG0pKG
📺: https://t.co/T61D0HOv8Y pic.twitter.com/5PdSxTJFqJ
— The Cam & Strick Podcast (@CamandStrick) May 20, 2026

"Vegas is like, 'Hey, we're not letting him talk to anybody inside our division.' If he wants to go talk to somebody outside the division, then maybe that's a possibility."

Cassidy, although he's not coaching the team any longer, has one more year left on his contract in Vegas, which pays him $4.5 million. And it appears that the team would rather eat that than have to face the highly respected coach on the opposite bench in a playoff series someday in the near future.

Insider Elliotte Friedman also reported, on NHL Network Radio on SiriusXM on Tuesday, that the Knights are not inclined to let Cassidy coach in the Pacific Division.

"I'm under the impression that Vegas is not going to let him talk to Edmonton or LA... (But) It isn't over, and we'll have to let this kind of play out."

Other NHL coaches 'very upset' about Vegas shutting down Cassidy talks

The NHL Coaches Association is not happy about the shenanigans, calling it "unprecedented". Other NHL coaches "are very upset about this", added Friedman.

Former NHLer Chris Pronger also calls the whole thing ridiculous.

"How hard can it be to sign a form?," said Pronger on NHL Network Radio. "Give me a break. To me, it's disrespectful to Bruce Cassidy and the process."

All of this could leave an opening for the Toronto Maple Leafs to pounce on Cassidy, if they're interested. But no one knows at this point if Toronto has asked for permission.