- Cassidy wants the Maple Leafs job and will interview if Vegas allows it
- Vegas already blocked him from the Oilers and Kings, leaving Toronto as his last open door
- Read below for where the Leafs search and Cassidy’s situation stand
Bruce Cassidy wants the Toronto Maple Leafs job.
The former Vegas Golden Knights coach told The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel he’s interested in the opening and would interview if Vegas grants permission. That permission is the holdup.
Vegas fired Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season and gave the bench to John Tortorella, who now has the Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Cassidy still can’t go to work.
Edmonton and Los Angeles both asked to interview him, and Vegas said no, with the two Pacific Division rivals likely part of the thinking.
Los Angeles moved on and hired Peter Laviolette. The Oilers are chasing Mike Babcock. Toronto is the one big job Cassidy can still go after.
Elliotte Friedman summed up where Vegas stands:
Cassidy hasn’t hidden his frustration. He called the situation “upsetting” back in May and said flatly that he just wants to coach again.
His union pushed back, too. The NHL Coaches’ Association said Cassidy should be free to interview, while the league sided with Vegas and its contractual rights since he has a year left on his deal.
Here’s the NHLCA statement:
Toronto fired Craig Berube on May 13 and got moving fast. The Leafs are interviewing five candidates in person this week, with former NHL forward Joe Pavelski among the finalists.
Cassidy’s résumé stands on its own. He went 178-99-43 over four seasons in Vegas and won the Cup in 2023, with six years on the Boston bench before that.
Now Toronto needs Vegas to say yes.
