Dave Litman
The Edmonton Oilers sound like they’ve given up hope of being able to talk to Bruce Cassidy about their head coaching job. Why else would they be focusing now on Mike Babcock? This could be an opportunity for the Toronto Maple Leafs to swoop in on the former Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
And according to a new report by Jonas Siegel in The Athletic, Cassidy says he is “open” to the possibility of coaching the Leafs.
The 60-year-old told The Athletic this week that he would “have interest in any opening” and was open to speaking to the Leafs, if allowed, to see if the fit was right on both sides.
That “if allowed” part is the key here. The Golden Knights have thus far not granted permission to anyone to talk to their former head coach. They fired him with a handful of games left in the regular season and replaced him with John Tortorella. But Cassidy still has one year remaining on his Vegas contract that pays him $5 million. So the team has control and needs to grant permission for anyone to speak with him.
This has caused all kinds of consternation for the 61-year-old coach. He is understandably frustrated and really just wants to “get back to work”. He can’t even try to break his contract and give up the $5M that Vegas owes him due to a noncompete clause.
Only 2 (maybe 1) NHL head coaching vacancies remain
What’s making matters worse for Cassidy (and better for the Leafs) is that all of the other head coaching vacancies around the NHL, outside of Edmonton and Toronto, are now filled.
The Oilers seem like a long shot at this point, as it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Golden Knights have no intention of allowing their chief competition in the Pacific Division to poach the man who led them to the Stanley Cup in 2023. Tortorella being on the verge of possibly doing the same doesn’t change their stance.
The Oilers are suddenly trying to cross the Ts and dot the i’s on a deal with Babcock. This, though, is pending an NHL investigation into the controversial bench boss’s past. There are concerns about alleged behaviors while he was in the employ of Columbus for two months in 2023. The fact that Edmonton is still in on Babs indicates they don’t feel that Vegas will ever give them permission.
The music has stopped. The musical chairs game leaves just one team standing for Cassidy: Toronto. Will the Leafs wait to see if they are given the okay to talk with Cassidy after the Golden Knights finish up with the Finals?
Cassidy says he’d be “open” to it. The Leafs should certainly be, as well.
