James Nichols
Will the New Jersey Devils need a new head coach at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season? A shocking firing this weekend now has a red-hot name in the head coach free agency market, which certainy may entice general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
The Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy on Sunday despite the teams playoff position and his long-standing success with the organization. He is replaced by John Tortorella in a shocking turn of events.
In his Vegas tenure, Cassidy boasts an incredible 178-99-43 record (fifth most in that span), 24 playoff wins (fourth most), two Pacific Division titles, and one Stanley Cup.
It’s easy to see why Cassidy could only be unemployed for a short amount of time.
However, the season isn’t over, and the Devils still employ Sheldon Keefe.
How long will that last? It’s truly anyone’s guess, but Fitzgerald explained in January at the height of New Jersey’s struggles that he and Keefe are “in lockstep,” and there’s no reason to believe Fitzgerald’s on the hot seat, despite the fan opinion.
Yet, in a situation where the Devils do decide to move on from Keefe, is Cassidy the Devils’ best option?
On the surface, his Vegas resume is certainly appealing. However, zooming the lens in a bit further might prove otherwise.
In Vegas, Cassidy relied on an elite defensive blueline and strong goaltening en route to winning the Stanley Cup. He didn’t have a whole lot of elite talent up front outside of Jack Eichel and a 60% Mark Stone.
Add the fact that Cassidy’s style contradicts New Jersey’s strengths, you can imagine the Devils might look similar to how they did for the majority of 2025-26.
Cassidy’s system is typically simple. Chip pucks behind the defense, win puck battles, and grind for goals. All while the defense boxes out the opposition while leaning on goaltending—although the latter has been a struggle for Vegas this season.
The Devils, however, are a high speed and skill team that thrives on the rush.
Just look at how the Devils have performed this season. In the first 17 games when Jack Hughes was healthy, New Jersey boasted a 12-4-1 record and played a more open style. After Jack’s injury in November, the system closed in on itself, becoming less about the speed and skill, and more about defensive structure. Like Vegas, New Jersey’s goaltending—specifically Jacob Markstrom—did not hold up.
Yet, post-Olympic break, the Devils’ system has opened up again. That’s due to Jack’s return to form as his hand is back at 100%. Keefe also explained after Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks that Luke Hughes‘ improved play in the latter half of the year is another obvious factor.
“We’ve been putting so much emphasis on our play on the rush and things like that since coming back from the Olympic break,” Keefe explained. “I looked at it the other day and one of the things that drives play on the rush is controlled entries and speed coming through the neutral zone. Jack on individual entries leads our team by a country mile since the Olympic break, and really would be the whole season. But Jack also is right there in assisting others in getting plays off the rush and controlled entries.
“Luke is right there too. [Jack] and Luke are kind of on another level compared to everyone else. That’s a statistical way to look at it. What those guys can bring in terms of pushing our offense on the rush, and when we’ve had them both healthy and feeling good, we look a lot like we have since, well, a lot of focus on how we’ve improved offensively here in these now 16 games. Go back and watch the 17 games before, when before Jack got hurt, and it look looks pretty similar.”
Hiring Cassidy would continue to move away from who the Devils are. In fact, credit to Keefe where it’s due. He’s brought them back to playing that sstyle of game.
It’s perhaps a bit too late, but they’re doing it again, and it’s clearly working with 10 wins in their last 14 games.
So, would Cassidy be an upgrade behind the bench in New Jersey? Perhaps on paper. However, it’s quite possible Keefe is doing enough at the end of the season here to save his job.
After all, he’s not wrong when he say’s look at the Devils’ performance pre-Jack injury in November, and post Olympic break. Everything in between was injury chaos, and that may not fall on Keefe.
We’ll see what the offseason brings, but proceed with caution with Cassidy. In fact, don’t be surprised if the current Devils regime gets one last kick at the can in 2026-27.
