Bruce Cassidy was seemingly unavailable despite being highly coveted. Well it turns out Toronto was the only team that had a crack at him and they decided to pass.
Ever since Bruce Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights, there have been several teams who have been connected to the Stanley Cup winning bench boss including the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs though Vegas was playing hardball in giving him a shot.
With the Kings shifting gears to Peter Laviolette and the Maple Leafs ironically hiring Jim Hiller - who Laviolette is essentially taking over for - that leaves the Oilers as the team who could feasibly get him though that seems like a long shot especially with news they want Mike Babcock to be their saviour.
Vegas confirms that Toronto was the only team who could interview Bruce Cassidy
Cassidy likely won't be out of work long and if there's an early season coaching change or some winter turnover then we could see Cassidy behind the bench once again. But he easily could have been for the start of the 2026-27 season and he could have done it with the Maple Leafs.
According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, the Vegs Golden Knights confirmed to the network that the team had indeed given the Maple Leafs a chance to speak with Cassidy about the position:
The Vegas Golden Knights confirmed Wednesday that only one team had been granted permission to speak to fired head coach Bruce Cassidy.
That team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos. Toronto announced the hire of Jim Hiller for the job earlier Wednesday.
That is legitimately shocking news considering that Cassidy was seen as one of the best potential candidates for the job and he openly admitted that he would have looked forward to the challenge but it wasn't meant to be.
Toronto had the inside track on the most coveted coach available in the league and decided to pass on him anyways
What temerity eh? To be in such a position to be allowed to be the only team to interview the top coach available and still choose someone else.
That's the position John Chayka and the Maple Leafs find themselves in and it's going to make some scratch their heads despite the team's unwavering confidence in Hiller's ability but it makes you wonder why Cassidy was overlooked.
He didn't lead Vegas to the Cup Final no, but he hauled them to a Cup win in 2019 and also turned them into a perennial playoff contender. He's a player's coach who does use analytics but is also a tough coach who won't take any excuses.
We don't know what type of coach Hiller will truly be but he did mention that the style is going to be one that the players and fans will be excited about, so perhaps we should reserve judgement until we see the on-ice product.
But the fact remains that Toronto had their cake and ate it too; a rarity nowadays. Let's just hope they don't end up choking on the crumbs.
Would you have preferred Bruce Cassidy as head coach instead of Jim Hiller?
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