Cassidy, whose Knights carried a .700 winning percentage (17-7-1) into Saturday night’s matchup in Detroit, said in a phone interview this past week that he has kept Sweeney’s farewell words in mind.
“I do,” said the earnest Cassidy. “That was Donny’s conversation with me . . . what he was discussing with me was, ‘The message is fine, and usually is. You’re a good coach, you see the game well, and you understand what a player needs to do . . . It’s how you message certain players who didn’t receive it as well as they should.’ “
In end-of-season exit interviews, we must presume, enough players made clear to Sweeney that they didn’t like what Cassidy told them, or how the message was conveyed, and that led to the change. Presume is the key word. Sweeney never was that specific with the media, and no player under Cassidy’s watch has subsequently stepped up to own it.
The message came through loud and clear to Sweeney. Cassidy then was handed his ticket out of town — one he immediately cashed in for a lucrative, long-term deal as Peter DeBoer’s successor in the desert. We can only presume that winger Jake DeBrusk was among those rubbed wrong. Shortly after Cassidy was gone, so too was DeBrusk’s trade request.
“That was some of the feedback,” said Cassidy, noting the words Sweeney literally delivered to his doorstep. “So going forward, I said, ‘OK, I’ll have to make sure I’m very mindful of the new players I am dealing with and make sure.’ . . . You know some players just want it honest and direct to the point so they can fix and get on with the game. Other guys, you’ve gotta sit them down, walk through it.”
The Knights have embraced Cassidy’s message and methods.
Ex-Sabres captain Jack Eichel, healthy after controversial neck surgery, has produced the best numbers of his career (on target for 92 points). The Vegas back line, paced by Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore, has rung up more offense (9-52–61 through 25 games) than any of the top contenders to date. The goaltending, led by the all-but-unknown Logan Thompson, has been superb. Thompson, 8-2-0 in November, on Thursday was named the league’s Rookie of the Month.
“Jack has been good,” said Cassidy, “He’s taken it to heart that he needs to be a 200-foot player. That was our conversation [prior to the season]. He really has been very, very good defensively. That’s helped a lot.”
Cassidy made clear to Eichel going into the season that the ex-Sabres captain would be slightly choked back in terms of playing minutes — similar to the conversation Cassidy said he had in Boston when Taylor Hall arrived in trade in April. Both players, No. 2 overall draft picks, were accustomed to being the first rolled over the boards in most every key offensive situation.
“Like overtime, or a four on four,” said Cassidy, noting how he sold Eichel on where his minutes could be trimmed. “What’s good for the team in the long run hopefully will be good enough for you.”
Entering weekend play, Eichel led the Knights in scoring (12-16–28) and plus-minus (plus-16), yet his average ice time (18:59) ranked seventh among skaters, fourth among forwards. Less has been more for the ex-Boston University standout and more for the Knights, who last year missed the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s brief history.
Every move has its wrinkles, on professional and personal levels. Cassidy said daughter Shannon and son Cole, both middle-schoolers, struggled initially with the transition. Both have done better of late, Shannon building out her social circle after departing a school she loved in the Boston area, and Cole immersing more into the year-round baseball culture in Las Vegas.
“Just the normal stuff that maybe people don’t…
Read More: With message duly received, former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy continues winning