Cassidy Entering Dangerous Third Season With Golden Knights

Bruce Cassidy is entering his third season as head coach of the Golden Knights. These have proved to be treacherous waters for the previous two bench bosses in Vegas as Gerard Gallant was let go midway through his third year and Pete DeBoer was fired at the end of his third season in charge.

Starting the season slowly proved costly for both Gallant and DeBoer in their final seasons coaching the Golden Knights.

Gallant’s third-year team won the first two games against the San Jose Sharks but then stumbled to a 9-8-3 mark after the first 20 games. DeBoer’s final season began with a thud as the Golden Knights lost three of the first four games to fall into a hole it would take them months to climb out of truly.

However, the 2019-20 and 2021-22 Golden Knights were each in prime position as the calendar turned. Both Gallant and DeBoer earned the nod as All Star Game head coach for leading their teams to 1st place in the division on January 1st.

Gallant would lose his position after dropping four straight games and six of 10 to see the Golden Knights fall out of the playoff picture while DeBoer’s team lost three key games in a row down the stretch to miss the playoffs entirely.

Cassidy didn’t reach a third season in his first coaching stint in Washington, however, his third year in Boston was his best. Those Bruins started the season strong with an 11-6-3 record. They went nuts when at the start of January winning 21 of 29 games and the 2018-19 Bruins ultimately reached the Stanley Cup Final, losing in seven games to the St. Louis Blues.

When Cassidy steps behind the bench at T-Mobile Arena on Opening Night, October 9th, he’ll have held the job for 848 days. That’s just four fewer than Pete DeBoer. It will be his 165th regular season game in charge of the Golden Knights, already more than DeBoer’s 160.

Cassidy will become the longest-tenured head coach in Golden Knights history if he makes it to March 18th, 2025, passing Gallant’s 1,008 days in charge of the team. He needs 50 games to pass Gallant’s regular season total of 213 games.

April 12th, 2024 – Passed DeBoer’s regular season games (161)
October 14th, 2024 – To pass DeBoer’s days (853)
October 22nd, 2024 – To pass DeBoer’s total games (199)
January 23rd, 2025 – To pass Gallant’s total games (241)
January 26th, 2025 – To pass Gallant’s regular season games (214)
March 18th, 2025 – To pass Gallant’s days (1,009)

Cassidy currently boasts a .637 points percentage as head coach of the Golden Knights. That’s ahead of Gallant’s .601 but behind DeBoer’s .650. To become the winningest coach in VGK history, Cassidy would need this year’s Golden Knights to reach 112 points in 82 games.

So, if Bruce Cassidy reaches the end of the season, with his team winning 112 or more points, and goes on to play 11 or more playoff games, he will become the longest-tenured with the most regular season and playoff games, and the winningest coach Vegas has ever had.