Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced that the team has signed Head Coach Bruce Cassidy to a multi-year contract extension. Cassidy has amassed a 117-52-22 record in 191 career games with Boston, good for the fourth-best winning percentage (.670) in team history. In just his second full season behind the bench in 2018-19, Cassidy led the Bruins to a berth in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2013, following a regular season in which the team amassed a 49-24-9 record (107 points) and finished in second place in the Eastern Conference. It was the second-straight season the team hit the 100-point mark. The team ranked second in the NHL in wins (49), points (107), goal differential (plus-44) and power-play percentage (25.9). Cassidy also led the team on a 19-game point streak from January 29 – March 9, which was the second-longest streak in team history.
Cassidy led the Bruins to a 50-20-12 record in his first full season behind the bench in 2017-18, good for second place in the Eastern Conference and the fourth-best record in the National Hockey League. Cassidy was also instrumental in the progression of several rookies, as first-year players accounted for an NHL-best 58 goals.
As interim head coach for the Bruins’ final 33 regular and postseason games in 2017-18, Cassidy compiled an 18-8-1 regular season record and propelled the team to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Once Cassidy assumed head coaching responsibilities on February 9, the Bruins ranked first in the NHL in goals per game (3.37), first in the NHL in fewest shots allowed (741), tied for second in the NHL in wins (18), tied for second in the NHL in power play percentage (27.8%), tied for third in the NHL in goals allowed per game (2.30), tied for fifth in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.6%) and tied for sixth in the NHL in takeaways (229).
Before joining Boston as an assistant prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, Cassidy spent five seasons (2011-16) as head coach of the Providence Bruins, having spent the three previous seasons (2008-11) with the club as an assistant. The 54-year-old native of Ottawa, Ontario compiled a 207-128-45 overall record in 380 games at the helm, including winning seasons in all five years and postseason berths in each of his final four seasons in Providence.
Bruins Pre-Season games begin next week: Monday 9/16 at New Jersey Devils; Thursday 9/19 at Philadelphia Flyers; and Saturday 9/21 at Chicago Blackhawks.