- Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon blamed the Oilers for leaking the Cassidy saga on TSN’s OverDrive
- McCrimmon said he spoke with Cassidy as recently as Wednesday and called him “a hell of a coach”
- Read below for the full breakdown of McCrimmon’s response and where this Cassidy standoff goes next
Kelly McCrimmon is pointing the finger right back at Edmonton.
The Vegas Golden Knights general manager joined TSN’s OverDrive on Thursday to address his team’s decision to block other clubs from interviewing Bruce Cassidy. McCrimmon was asked how the situation became so public, and his answer put it squarely on the Oilers.
Watch McCrimmon’s response:
“It’s only news because Edmonton leaked it. This isn’t something that came out of our organization. We’ve been forced to respond to it, which we did prior to our series against the [Colorado] Avalanche.”
That’s a heavy public shot, and it landed the same day Cassidy went on Spittin’ Chiclets and called the standoff “upsetting.” We covered Cassidy’s comments earlier in the day, where he said he just wants to go to work and coach.
McCrimmon also revealed he’s been in constant contact with Cassidy throughout the process.
“I’ve talked to Bruce as recently as yesterday. I know how he feels. I know he wants to coach. He’s a hell of a coach, and he’s anxious to get going. Coaches, by definition, aren’t real patient people, so I understand what he wants and why he wants it. At the same time, I work for the Vegas Golden Knights, and my responsibilities are first and foremost to the organization.”
His stance is what pushed the NHL Coaches’ Association to step in last week, calling the situation “unprecedented” and saying contracted-but-fired coaches shouldn’t be blocked from chasing new jobs.
The Oilers and the LA Kings both still want a sit-down with Cassidy, who led Vegas to the 2023 Stanley Cup before getting fired in March with eight games left in the regular season. John Tortorella replaced him, swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, and is now four wins from another Cup.
Vegas doesn’t seem in any rush to budge. Cassidy still has a year left on his contract, which means the Knights control the timeline. With McCrimmon publicly drawing a line at Edmonton, the Oilers may have to look somewhere else for their next head coach.
