Management Bruce Cassidy

[Blowfish]

terrific article. Interesting thought Kirk gave about the vets

"The coach had to go…everyone knew it. Even those who supported him knew it. And perhaps the only explanation for why it didn’t happen sooner is that maybe the players themselves- including the most respect of the B’s leaders- pleaded for the opportunity to let them play for their coach’s position. If that happened and Sweeney held off, then the GM deserves credit here. The easy play was to fire him after the collapse against Detroit a few weeks back, with the team surrendering leads of 3-0 and 4-1 to fall in a shootout."

While I can see some players frustrated by Julien, I highly doubt it was the Bergy/Marchand`s of the team, they earned the trust of CJ and were rewarded for it

I`d love to know who Haggs source is referring to for frustrated players? Spoons/Morrow my guess

ODDAT did you see what Kirk had to say about Koko...lol

 

[Blowfish]

This should be required reading for every member here.

This paragraph alone applies to military, sports and business. It personifies what leadership is. Any idiot can be a boss or in charge. But being a leader is much, much more.




'There’s an old military saying that says command is the loneliest job on earth. The idea behind it is simple: as commander, you have to make the tough decisions, often unpopular ones. In order to provide the right balance of leadership, you can’t be too close to your charges nor can you be overly distant. As a result, the middle ground you often must occupy is yours and yours alone.'

Great stuff!

Yup....

 

[BruinDust]

ODDAT did you see what Kirk had to say about Koko...lol

Are you speaking of Alexander Khokhlechev? The same guy who has had trouble getting regular duty in the KHL?

Joonas Kemppainen is doing alright in the "K", better than this Koko character. Perhaps they should explore bring back that never-was NHLer as well.

 

[Blowfish]

Are you speaking of Alexander Khokhlechev? The same guy who has had trouble getting regular duty in the KHL?

Joonas Kemppainen is doing alright in the "K", better than this Koko character. Perhaps they should explore bring back that never-was NHLer as well.

Not sure Kemp had the same success in AHL as koko. Kirk talks about Cassidy Ability to get best out of young players in particular koko. Bruins do still own his rights. So anything is possible. Great article.

 

[BruinDust]

Not sure Kemp had the same success in AHL as koko. Kirk talks about Cassidy Ability to get best out of young players in particular koko. Bruins do still own his rights. So anything is possible. Great article.

It was.

Don't mind me. Koko might be one of my least favorite Bruins of all-time. I can understand why some like him, I wasn't a fan of his game at all.

 

[Blowfish]

It was.

Don't mind me. Koko might be one of my least favorite Bruins of all-time. I can understand why some like him, I wasn't a fan of his game at all.

I get some folk didn't see it with koko. Best to ask p bruin fans about koko. I just know his stats in ohl and AHL were outstanding. He hardly saw any minutes under Claude. He wasn't a Claude style player. That's obvious. Bruins management and Claude have proven to miss the boat on young players dismissed to other teams. What's to say they didn't fail with koko. A player that had success at every level.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I remember there being quite a bit of negative stuff on Cassidy back in Providence (developing youth, not being liked, etc). Can anyone confirm this or debunk it?

Lots of stuff about not giving guys the opportunity to succeed (Knight in particular), which is pretty ironic if you read Ty Andersons article today noting players who've played for him suggesting that one of his biggest attributes is ..... putting players in the right position to be successful.

 

[DKH]

Lots of stuff about not giving guys the opportunity to succeed (Knight in particular), which is pretty ironic if you read Ty Andersons article today noting players who've played for him suggesting that one of his biggest attributes is ..... putting players in the right position to be successful.

Good post this is why your one of my go to posters

Thanks for the Ty reference I follow him on twitter

I voted Dean but sounds like Cassidy going to be the guy

Good for him - he's got his dream come true

 

[DKH]

I remember there being quite a bit of negative stuff on Cassidy back in Providence (developing youth, not being liked, etc). Can anyone confirm this or debunk it?

That was me but the curtain was pulled back and I was exposed as a fraud but this place has many excellent knowledgeable fans and posters

Confirmed
-
And DKH is an acronym for Don't Know Hockey

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

That was me but the curtain was pulled back and I was exposed as a fraud but this place has many excellent knowledgeable fans and posters

Confirmed
-
And DKH is an acronym for Don't Know Hockey

Dan, I can never tell any more if you're being sarcastic or not. I remember you really not liking Cassidy a few years ago but coming around on him since Sweeney got promoted (I think). Can you elaborate on what might have changed your opinion about him? There's so much noise on this board and only a handful of posters with insightful things to say and you're one of them. I live in Denver so I really value the chatter from local guys like you who hear things through the MA hockey community grapevine (no sarcasm)

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I get some folk didn't see it with koko. Best to ask p bruin fans about koko. I just know his stats in ohl and AHL were outstanding. He hardly saw any minutes under Claude. He wasn't a Claude style player. That's obvious. Bruins management and Claude have proven to miss the boat on young players dismissed to other teams. What's to say they didn't fail with koko. A player that had success at every level.

I definitely don't know enough about Koko's situation to blame Claude for him not sticking in Boston, but he's definitely one of a few guys that I'd be really curious to see if he would have carved a spot for himself under Cassidy instead. We'll probably never know because Koko is in the wind, but he definitely seemed like a kid who just wasn't going to work out in Claude's world.

 

[Era of Sanity]

really pumped about the Neely Sweeney Cassidy trifecta.

 

[DKH]

Dan, I can never tell any more if you're being sarcastic or not. I remember you really not liking Cassidy a few years ago but coming around on him since Sweeney got promoted (I think). Can you elaborate on what might have changed your opinion about him? There's so much noise on this board and only a handful of posters with insightful things to say and you're one of them. I live in Denver so I really value the chatter from local guys like you who hear things through the MA hockey community grapevine (no sarcasm)

I did not like Cassidy but I also asked folks I knew who knew him well and I was told he has a photographic memory and is super smart - but he can be wound very tight

He's 50 and he's been accumulating experiences and information since his last coaching job as well as this organization so I believe he is much more prepared

I hope he succeeds. I don't live to be right anyways.

My informed take is that Neely wanted to fire Claude for real the day after the Detroit collapse but Sweeney didn't believing they still had a good chance and Julien would be the best guy.

But it looks bleak and he wasn't going to bring him back so it was an opportunity to see how players react/perform under a different voice

It gives Sweeney & company additional information to use at the trade deadline, expansion protection, trades etc

It rewards Cassidy

However I still am going Kevin Dean barring a heck of a run by Cassidy will be the next coach

I'm going next 3 games and really interested in how they play

I admit if they aren't making playoffs I want a single digit pick but I want them to play well for him

Friends of mine have read my rants on Cassidy and other stuff and our quick to weigh in when they disagree or have something to add. This is a fun place to visit and if I was worried about being wrong I'd never give an opinion and to destroy all my incorrect posts I'd need to hire a staff

I'm sure there are plenty here with better knowledge of the team and game than moi and a lot of posters give me ideas and knowledge I never would have had without this board

 

[Fenway]

I did not like Cassidy but I also asked folks I knew who knew him well and I was told he has a photographic memory and is super smart - but he can be wound very tight

He's 50 and he's been accumulating experiences and information since his last coaching job as well as this organization so I believe he is much more prepared

I hope he succeeds. I don't live to be right anyways.

When I joined this board in 2007 most here thought Julien and Chia would be gone in 12 months.

All we can do is watch and hope

 

[Johnny4778]

Yup....

Our CEO use to call it too much home cooking. Business decisions cannot be personal. In my industry people are moved on a regular basis so that they do not become friends or too buddy buddy with the people that work for them.

 

[Gordoff]

In the last few years, the following defensemen have been traded:

Gudbranson, Kulikov, Campbell, Pysyk, Goligoski, Subban, Weber, Yandle, Seth Jones, Larsson, Demers, Hamhuis, Schenn, Daley, Scuderi, Reinhart, Hamilton.

And you can probably go through most of those and come up with a reason why Boston didn't get him or maybe wouldn't fit with us, but that list still proves that defensemen of some value change hands. And furthermore, GM's do make trades.

You can look at an inactive market and conclude trades are hard, but the fact is there are no rules against them. Maybe Sweeney needs to be more aggressive, or more creative, or consider moving assets he hadn't before. But the bottom line is this...there is no way in the world Don Sweeney can say he's done much of anything to improve this roster since he's gotten here. He might have improved the 2020 roster, but he hasn't improved a roster we have seen yet. So maybe he needs another approach.

And lastly, even making a small trade puts players on edge. This GM and his predecessor have completely discounted that, and I think they're wrong to do so.

Trades ARE tough no doubt. I give DS credit for one specific thing and that is not easy for anyone, any GM in the NHL today. he's kept his word that he is strictly sticking to his objective of not deviating from the plan of developing his defense for the future and rebuilding the prodding Bruins into a fast thinking, fast skating juggernaut. We'll be seeing in the next 18 months or so how his vision is taking shape. After the smoke of yesterday's bizarrely timed firing of Claude Julien, I've moved on to look forward, the sky didn't fall and there will be a game (snow storm permitting) tomorrow night in Boston.

I did not like Cassidy but I also asked folks I knew who knew him well and I was told he has a photographic memory and is super smart - but he can be wound very tight

He's 50 and he's been accumulating experiences and information since his last coaching job as well as this organization so I believe he is much more prepared

I hope he succeeds. I don't live to be right anyways.

My informed take is that Neely wanted to fire Claude for real the day after the Detroit collapse but Sweeney didn't believing they still had a good chance and Julien would be the best guy.

But it looks bleak and he wasn't going to bring him back so it was an opportunity to see how players react/perform under a different voice

It gives Sweeney & company additional information to use at the trade deadline, expansion protection, trades etc

It rewards Cassidy

However I still am going Kevin Dean barring a heck of a run by Cassidy will be the next coach

I'm going next 3 games and really interested in how they play

I admit if they aren't making playoffs I want a single digit pick but I want them to play well for him

Friends of mine have read my rants on Cassidy and other stuff and our quick to weigh in when they disagree or have something to add. This is a fun place to visit and if I was worried about being wrong I'd never give an opinion and to destroy all my incorrect posts I'd need to hire a staff

I'm sure there are plenty here with better knowledge of the team and game than moi and a lot of posters give me ideas and knowledge I never would have had without this board

Dan, I've been reading your stuff as far back as I can remember coming here and in doing so have learned so much. I appreciate the above post and it holds true to how I've seen you come around full circle in your judgement of Cassidy. Posters like you (and there are only a handful) are ones that I quote at functions and events when I find someone willing to listen to me drone on about the Bruins. I sound way more intelligent than I am about the Bruins and hockey in general when I quote stuff from posts like the one above. You are self deprecating and that, as much as your knowledge of all things Bruins makes you a very valuable contributor here, and one that I wish I knew while growing up and waiting for my dad to come home on Saturday night with the Sunday Globe just to read Fran Rosa and get my hockey fix.
Thank you Dan!

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Talk is cheap and much easier said than done. But this quote from Cassidy expresses exactly how I felt about the Bruins and what I thought had become wrong with Julien's system: players not trusting their own skills and instincts, and adhering strictly to systemized hockey. I feel it holds some water that he is...confirming...my own fears about Julien given he was an assistant and was exposed to Julien's coaching style.

"A little bit more of trust your skills, use your skills, to separate down low in the [offensive] zone to create something for yourself, especially against the teams that play man-to-man," Cassidy said. "You're here for a reason, because you have ability, use it, whether it's your body size, whether it's your foot speed, your IQ, or all of the above; use that a little more and have some confidence to do that without … making high-risk plays."

 

[TMac21]

Trades ARE tough no doubt. I give DS credit for one specific thing and that is not easy for anyone, any GM in the NHL today. he's kept his word that he is strictly sticking to his objective of not deviating from the plan of developing his defense for the future and rebuilding the prodding Bruins into a fast thinking, fast skating juggernaut. We'll be seeing in the next 18 months or so how his vision is taking shape. After the smoke of yesterday's bizarrely timed firing of Claude Julien, I've moved on to look forward, the sky didn't fall and there will be a game (snow storm permitting) tomorrow night in Boston.



Dan, I've been reading your stuff as far back as I can remember coming here and in doing so have learned so much. I appreciate the above post and it holds true to how I've seen you come around full circle in your judgement of Cassidy. Posters like you (and there are only a handful) are ones that I quote at functions and events when I find someone willing to listen to me drone on about the Bruins. I sound way more intelligent than I am about the Bruins and hockey in general when I quote stuff from posts like the one above. You are self deprecating and that, as much as your knowledge of all things Bruins makes you a very valuable contributor here, and one that I wish I knew while growing up and waiting for my dad to come home on Saturday night with the Sunday Globe just to read Fran Rosa and get my hockey fix.
Thank you Dan!

Well said, we love ya Dan!

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

I did not like Cassidy but I also asked folks I knew who knew him well and I was told he has a photographic memory and is super smart - but he can be wound very tight

He's 50 and he's been accumulating experiences and information since his last coaching job as well as this organization so I believe he is much more prepared

I hope he succeeds. I don't live to be right anyways.

My informed take is that Neely wanted to fire Claude for real the day after the Detroit collapse but Sweeney didn't believing they still had a good chance and Julien would be the best guy.

But it looks bleak and he wasn't going to bring him back so it was an opportunity to see how players react/perform under a different voice

It gives Sweeney & company additional information to use at the trade deadline, expansion protection, trades etc

It rewards Cassidy

However I still am going Kevin Dean barring a heck of a run by Cassidy will be the next coach

I'm going next 3 games and really interested in how they play

I admit if they aren't making playoffs I want a single digit pick but I want them to play well for him

Friends of mine have read my rants on Cassidy and other stuff and our quick to weigh in when they disagree or have something to add. This is a fun place to visit and if I was worried about being wrong I'd never give an opinion and to destroy all my incorrect posts I'd need to hire a staff

I'm sure there are plenty here with better knowledge of the team and game than moi and a lot of posters give me ideas and knowledge I never would have had without this board

Thanks for the reply, Dan.

 

[DKH]

Trades ARE tough no doubt. I give DS credit for one specific thing and that is not easy for anyone, any GM in the NHL today. he's kept his word that he is strictly sticking to his objective of not deviating from the plan of developing his defense for the future and rebuilding the prodding Bruins into a fast thinking, fast skating juggernaut. We'll be seeing in the next 18 months or so how his vision is taking shape. After the smoke of yesterday's bizarrely timed firing of Claude Julien, I've moved on to look forward, the sky didn't fall and there will be a game (snow storm permitting) tomorrow night in Boston.



Dan, I've been reading your stuff as far back as I can remember coming here and in doing so have learned so much. I appreciate the above post and it holds true to how I've seen you come around full circle in your judgement of Cassidy. Posters like you (and there are only a handful) are ones that I quote at functions and events when I find someone willing to listen to me drone on about the Bruins. I sound way more intelligent than I am about the Bruins and hockey in general when I quote stuff from posts like the one above. You are self deprecating and that, as much as your knowledge of all things Bruins makes you a very valuable contributor here, and one that I wish I knew while growing up and waiting for my dad to come home on Saturday night with the Sunday Globe just to read Fran Rosa and get my hockey fix.
Thank you Dan!

Think you - you made my day (but it's 6:30 AM and early)

 

[DKH]

Thanks for the reply, Dan.

My rants that can get a response are usually addressed by friends outside of HF existence but I got a couple of funny ones here

Back in June 2003 I was so pissed when the Bruins passed on Zach Parise and traded back and took Mark Stuart I was ready to go on a 6 State killing spree- but I settled for bashing OConnell and ripping his draft especially his second rounder Patrice Bergeron-Cleary a guy I had never heard of. I knew Kirk and he PM'd me and later I saw him at camp and he told me watch Bergeron-Cleary this guy could be one of the steals of the draft and then broke him down as only Kirk can do

He nailed it in June of 2003.

But of course me being me I thought damn it we could have had Parise & Bergeron

More recently a year ago I was at the gym working out at like 7:30 on a Saturday morning with one of my friends when I see my phone ring and it's Dom calling from Canada. I tell my bud excuse me for taking this but it's Dom and for him to call this early something must be up. Dom had read stuff I had posted that was incorrect because he had other information and didn't want me to be a complete putz. I edited my post and bingo what he said was true

As for Cassidy- I think he's got as much experience as anyone - he was a first rounder who got hurt and his career never really got off the ground. He's been an NHL coach before so I'm 100% sure he knows what worked well and didn't

Positives for the situation
He has coached every player
He knows the city and organization
He's been an NHL coach
He worked for one of the best in Claude
The team doesn't suck and has a third of a roster who has been in Cup Finals

The familiarity, experience, and support group should help a lot

He's got a chance to make this a full time gig if they do well

 

[ODAAT]

ODDAT did you see what Kirk had to say about Koko...lol

yep, still don`t think Koko has any future in Boston but yes I did see that

 

[Blowfish]

yep, still don`t think Koko has any future in Boston but yes I did see that

I know he doesn't. Is what it is He was a very poorly managed asset. Hence my crazy rants. Lol

 

[ODAAT]

I know he doesn't. Is what it is He was a very poorly managed asset. Hence my crazy rants. Lol

not sure if he was a poorly managed asset or a player who would be a solid AHL guy who can`t play at the NHL level

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I did not like Cassidy but I also asked folks I knew who knew him well and I was told he has a photographic memory and is super smart - but he can be wound very tight

He's 50 and he's been accumulating experiences and information since his last coaching job as well as this organization so I believe he is much more prepared

I hope he succeeds. I don't live to be right anyways.

My informed take is that Neely wanted to fire Claude for real the day after the Detroit collapse but Sweeney didn't believing they still had a good chance and Julien would be the best guy.

But it looks bleak and he wasn't going to bring him back so it was an opportunity to see how players react/perform under a different voice

It gives Sweeney & company additional information to use at the trade deadline, expansion protection, trades etc

It rewards Cassidy

However I still am going Kevin Dean barring a heck of a run by Cassidy will be the next coach

I'm going next 3 games and really interested in how they play

I admit if they aren't making playoffs I want a single digit pick but I want them to play well for him

Friends of mine have read my rants on Cassidy and other stuff and our quick to weigh in when they disagree or have something to add. This is a fun place to visit and if I was worried about being wrong I'd never give an opinion and to destroy all my incorrect posts I'd need to hire a staff

I'm sure there are plenty here with better knowledge of the team and game than moi and a lot of posters give me ideas and knowledge I never would have had without this board

Funny, Cam's the one who didn't like trying to win games 0-0 but wanted Julien out after a 6-5 game. I still think at some point before this game the directive was given to get the defensemen more involved offensively, be it pinching or joining the rush. Since the start of 2017, the B's have given up 3.56 goals per game and scored 3.00 per game. That's a huge jump from the numbers before that (Unfortunately, the goals against went up more than the goals for). I don't see it as a coincidence.