"I don’t anticipate us having any problems with Butch."
That's what Bruins president Cam Neely had to say about Bruce Cassidy's contract situation when he sat down for an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Boston's Joe Haggerty earlier this month.
Now the team is reportedly doing something about it. According to The Athletic's Joe McDonald, the Bruins have begun contract negotations with their head coach, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Locking Cassidy up is a no-brainer for the Bruins, as the 54-year-old has led the team to a 117-52-22 record in two-plus seasons behind the bench. He needed just 166 games to win 100 games with the Bruins, the second-fastest coach in team history to reach that mark, behind only Tom Johnson's 138 games.
Cassidy has also taken the Bruins deeper into the postseason in each successive year, losing in the first round in 2017, the second round in 2018, and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final this past season. And despite coming within one game of hoisting the Cup in June, Neely has said that the playoffs are a growth opportunity for Cassidy.
"Coming in when he did and getting us to the playoffs and then almost having two back-to-back, 50-win seasons is pretty impressive," Neely said in June. "You know, learn from our playoff losses and how to maybe coach a little bit differently in the playoffs. You know, it’s kind of a tale of two seasons, to get into the playoffs, and then once you’re in the playoffs, how do you adjust for a seven-game series. I think Butch [Cassidy] has done a really good job in managing the regular season and learning from playoff hockey."
Boston Bruins
The Bruins' roster hasn't changed much since last season, so Cassidy will once again be very familiar with his players this coming season. While Marcus Johansson and Noel Acciari departed in free agency, the team added other lower-impact free agents like Brett Ritchie and Par Lindholm.
The biggest item on Boston's to-do list before the season begins (outside of Cassidy's contract) is locking down defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, both of whom are restricted free agents. If the team can figure out deals for McAvoy, Carlo, and Cassidy, it would be a good first step in trying to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and winning one more game this time around.
Haggerty: Bruins bracing for McAvoy, Carlo holdouts>>>>
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