Golden Knights HC Bruce Cassidy: 'This is not some sort of a revenge tour'

Many within the NHL community were surprised to learn on June 6 that the Boston Bruins had parted ways with head coach Bruce Cassidy. 

While Boston was bounced from this year's postseason tournament by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round, Cassidy had guided the club to one Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2019, playoff berths in each of his six seasons in charge and an overall regular-season record of 245-108-46 and a postseason mark of 36-37. 

Cassidy didn't have to wait long for his next opportunity, as the Vegas Golden Knights scooped him up earlier this week after they fired Peter DeBoer last month. On Thursday, Cassidy spoke with media members about his philosophy in his new gig. 

"This is not some sort of a revenge tour," Cassidy explained, per Tracey Myers of the NHL's website. "I just want to prove to myself, more importantly, that I'm capable of doing the job and winning, winning in the postseason. So, there's a little bit of that. It's not going to consume me every day, by any means. When you come close to winning the Cup, it's always in the back of your mind and you want to finish the job. I definitely have that mindset where I'm at."

The 57-year-old added he wanted to stay unemployed for as short a time as possible. 

"When I got the news [in Boston], people reflect, obviously, but I wanted to go right back to work," he remarked. "I think I'm a young guy. I love coaching. That was a conversation I had with (wife) Julie very quickly. Hey, it's got to be the right fit for me, right fit for the team. That's obvious. But I was going to try to pursue opportunities right away. As I told some people, I just got tired of being out of work, so here we are (laughs)."

The Bruins, meanwhile, are still conducting a search for Cassidy's replacement.