Sweeney Says Bruce Cassidy Firing Is All About The Message

It’s not entirely clear what message the general manager of Boston Bruins, Don Sweeney, is trying to send, but he certainly admitted his decision to fire Bruce Cassidy as the team’s head coach is a message and is about the message that was no longer reaching the players. Acknowledging that it won’t be a popular choice among the fans, media and some of the players, Sweeney was asked why Cassidy was let go and responded, that he felt the team needed a new voice.

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Sweeney is right. This isn’t going to be a popular decision, mainly because most fans think Sweeney should be the one to go. There’s only so much a head coach can do when his GM doesn’t draft particularly well or put a solid team on the ice. Yet, somehow, Cassidy managed to repeatedly get his Bruins to the playoffs. When asked how Cassidy took the news, Sweeney said, “Not well” and added, rightfully so.

The Bruins are likely to undergo massive changes. Hampered by multiple injuries that will see key players return late into the 2022-23 season, it’s going to be hard for the Bruins to get off to a good start. And, if Patrice Bergeron chooses not to return, the Bruins are potentially about to embrace a full rebuild. Should that happen, Sweeney seems to think Cassidy is not the man to lead this team through that.

Sweeney was asked why he wasn’t the one to leave and he said, “One day things will fall that way, but today is not that day.”

What About that Message?

If the Bruins do undergo a rebuild, what’s the message that needs to be sent? Whatever it is, Sweeney said it was a big part of his decision. He noted, “The message, how it was being delivered and sometimes how it was ultimately being received, for players both young and old” was a factor in this move. He added, “I think the message [Cassidy] wants to deliver is exactly as he wants it to be. Has it changed with the group that’s still here or is it as effective with the group that’s still here? That was my determination is that it wasn’t as effective as it was [in previous years]”

Will the players who are still left when this team completes whatever changes it goes through are complete get the message? Time will tell.

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