Friedman’s Cassidy report exposes the exact coaching pattern the Maple Leafs keep repeating
Bruce Cassidy was fired in a surprise, however there was a method to the madness. Elliotte Friedman says it's due to him losing the locker room over and over — and if Toronto wants to avoid repeating history they need to stay away.
Sunday evening came with a stunning bit of news as the the Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy and replaced him with John Tortorella as a way to jumpstart the last stretch of their playoff push.
Three Coaches, Three Collapses: Why Toronto needs to stay away from Bruce Cassidy according to Elliotte Friedman
While he is certainly going to be a hot commodity, especially for a team looking for a spark like the Toronto Maple Leafs — perhaps it's best if they looked elsewhere according to Elliotte Friedman.
On 32 Thoughts, Friedman delved a little deeper into why Cassidy ended up leaving and that he wasn't able to keep the locker room:
He's one of the best to do it. I met a lot of reporters who may be newer to covering hockey; they talk about how he answers the questions well and strategy etc and they love him for it.
Behind the scenes, he's tough, they've had assistants leave, we know Boston and Vegas, there have been players he's battled with. He's a tough, hard and demanding guy. Some coaches are like that. He really knows hockey but he is hard on the people around him — assistants and players.
I had a player say in '23 he was still having battles with his players when they won the Cup. I just heard last year, I told this a couple times. Edmonton beats them last year in five games and it was very disappointing.
I hard between games four and five, I guess there was a hard meeting or series of meeting between Cassidy and the players and they didn't like what was said. I also heard, and I double checked and people reached out.
I guess at the exit meeting, the players were pretty blunt about what was said. Kelly McCrimmon backed his coach who won them the Cup but it really sounds like the message wasn't getting through to them anymore.
Behind the scenes, he's tough, they've had assistants leave, we know Boston and Vegas, there have been players he's battled with. He's a tough, hard and demanding guy. Some coaches are like that. He really knows hockey but he is hard on the people around him — assistants and players.
I had a player say in '23 he was still having battles with his players when they won the Cup. I just heard last year, I told this a couple times. Edmonton beats them last year in five games and it was very disappointing.
I hard between games four and five, I guess there was a hard meeting or series of meeting between Cassidy and the players and they didn't like what was said. I also heard, and I double checked and people reached out.
I guess at the exit meeting, the players were pretty blunt about what was said. Kelly McCrimmon backed his coach who won them the Cup but it really sounds like the message wasn't getting through to them anymore.
There's no denying Cassidy's resume, if the Maple Leafs want to actually make sweeping changes — they have to stop hiring the same faces. Cassidy is much like Mike Babcock and Craig Berube; they play hard, demanding, sometimes violent hockey.
They expect the most out of everyone and the second it doesn't happen, there's criticism. While some good coaches can get things out of their players, consistently berating them won't lead to any positive results.
Sheldon Keefe was the only guy who seemingly felt like a 'chill' guy, and more of a player's coach. Did it sometimes rub fans the wrong way when he didn't come after some mistakes? Sure, but at least the locker room was close even if they didn't get to the Cup.
Constantly driving a wedge between your players, criticizing them at every turn, and maybe even making a few comparisons (i.e. Babcock's list of negatives he asked from Mitch Marner).
Winning doesn't always involve bringing in a drill sergeant to monitor things, and MLSE needs to start looking at coaches who will make the players enjoy playing again — which will lead to success.
We touched on Cassidy as a fit to replace Berube and there is still an argument there given the system he runs, the onus on offensive firepower and could bring Auston Matthews back to form.
Friedman wasn't scouting Bruce Cassidy but instead was describing Toronto's potential future
But at the same time, Friedman's words were a warning to the Maple Leafs: Stop hiring the same faces.
The message stopped getting through for Cassidy just as it did Craig Berube. What's going to make a difference? If you're still getting yelled at, it's just the face behind the yelling that changes.
There's also right now no Team President who can kind of have a final say and we need to know that Keith Pelley isn't just going sign the first coach he sees regardless of if he's a fit or not.
If they had someone like Doug Armstrong, Chris Pronger, Jim Nill, Peter Chiarelli, really anyone else running the show they would have the wherewithal to look and find a coach who fits not only the now, but the future.
If Toronto hires someone akin to Cassidy, that is only going to make Auston Matthews angrier. He already has been neutered by Berube, and if he struggles to get back to form under Cassidy — is he at risk of being berated?
Surely then he's headed out the door and the Maple Leafs will have nothing to show for it except a lot of regret, and wishing they had a monkey's paw to change their fortunes.
The Maple Leafs don't have a coaching problem but instead they have a philosophy problem. And until MLSE figures that out, the face behind the yelling will keep changing while the result stays the same.
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