Vegas Golden Knights HC Bruce Cassidy ranked second in a player-voted poll about which NHL head coach they would least like to play for.
“The Athletic polled 111 players in recent months on a variety of topics, granting them anonymity so they could speak freely.” One of said topics asked was about which NHL head coach players would least like to play for.
The Athletic NHL Player Poll
• First team on your no-trade list?
• Coach you’d most/least like to play for?
• Best/Worst facilities for visiting team?
• In-season tournament?
• Should Gary Bettman retire?On @TheAthleticNHL ⤵️https://t.co/EMVZQdA837
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) February 5, 2025
Ranking second on the list was Golden Knights’ own Bruce Cassidy. During his tenure with the Boston Bruins, Cassidy faced criticism about his treatment of the young players on his roster. They at times felt there was no way to please him and that his comments in the media were too harsh.
During his Golden Knights career, Cassidy has openly called out players like Phil Kessel, Michael Amadio and most recently his goaltenders Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov.
Despite the anguish towards Cassidy, his coaching methods have been successful. With the Bruins, they made the playoffs in each season under his tutelage while bringing them within a game of the Stanley Cup in the 2018-19 season and is now a Stanley Cup champion with the Golden Knights.
“That’s what I’m hearing from around the league,” one player said in The Athletic’s article. “I haven’t heard too many good things about the Vegas coach, Cassidy,” another said. “I don’t really know him that well, but I haven’t heard anything good about him.”
Cassidy accumulated 12.33% of the votes, trailing the runaway favourite John Tortorella who picked up 38.46% of the votes. Mike Babcock and Lindy Ruff also found their names in the poll and they are both head coaches who have been criticized in the past for their unfair treatment towards young players like Tortorella an Cassidy have.
The list doesn’t say whether they believe Cassidy is a good coach or not but 12.33% of the 93 players who voted wouldn’t want to play on a team ran by him. He did receive 1.89% of the votes when the players were asked about which coach they most want to play for.
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