Bruins players went over General Manager to Can Neely to force Bruce Cassidy's firing

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Liam
June 12, 2022 (5:06 PM)

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The hockey world was shocked earlier last week when the Boston Bruins fired their long-tenured coach, Bruce Cassidy. Based on new reports emerging now, it seems like the decision didn't come from just the General Manager or team ownership, but the players.

A group of players, disgruntled with Cassidy's coaching when they were in a slump, took their concerns about Cassidy to General Manager, Don Sweeney. When Sweeney backed Cassidy as their coach, and committed to keeping him on board for another year, the players went above the GM to the team president, Cam Neely .

Neely sided with the players, and made the order to let go of Cassidy, despite his winning record with a progressively worsening, ageing roster. An NHL inside source had this to say about the situation:

Look it's no secret how tight Bruce and Don Sweeney were. From what I hear, the players' issues with Bruce fell on deaf ears with Sweeney so they took it to Neely. I've heard Neely and Cassidy didn't always see eye to eye and maybe that's all he needed to justify firing him? Who knows? But that's what it sounds like.

In a sense, this player-organized-coup against Cassidy is concerning. Their main concern outlined in reports is they were upset about how Cassidy handled struggling young players like Studnicka, DeBrusk, and Frederic. Going over the GM to the president, to oust a coach over young players struggles while your team is trying to compete in the playoffs, is off-brand for the Bruins' culture of accountability and winning at all costs.

Multiple anonymous NHL sources were mentioned by Jimmy Murphy in his article for Boston Hockey Now, with some asking «are the inmates running the asylum?»

With this odd and off-brand move for the Bruins, the club seems like it's in flux for the first time in over 10 years. While it's been clear the last few years that the roster may not have been good enough to to compete for the Stanley Cup, they remained a stubbornly persistent playoff team every year. With the firing of Cassidy from players' concerns now, perhaps the Bruins will pursue a more player-friendly coach for the first time in the Bergeron/Marchand era.