Bruce Cassidy, fired by Golden Knights with eight games left, says he was 'surprised' and wanted to finish the job

Key facts

• Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights on March 29, 2025, with eight games remaining in the regular season.
• He coached the team to a 178-99-43 record and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023.
• John Tortorella replaced Cassidy and led the Golden Knights to a 7-0-1 finish, winning the Pacific Division.
• Vegas is tied 2-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Utah Mammoth, with Game 5 on Wednesday.
• Cassidy made his first public comments on the firing during an appearance on TNT's NHL playoff studio show on Tuesday.
• General manager Kelly McCrimmon said the team needed a 'spark' and that the decision was made because of high expectations.

A sudden end to a championship tenure

Bruce Cassidy, the coach who led the Vegas Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup in 2023, was fired on March 29 with just eight games left in the regular season. The dismissal came as the team struggled through a 4-9-2 March, dropping from first place in the Pacific Division to third, six points behind the Anaheim Ducks. Cassidy, speaking publicly for the first time since his firing, told TNT's playoff studio show on Tuesday that he was surprised by the decision. 'You grind for 74 games and you want to be there at the end,' he said. 'That's the payoff, playing for the Cup, getting your name on the Cup again. But Vegas, they have their standards. They felt we weren't there, so they made a change.'

The decision to replace Cassidy with Tortorella

General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the coaching change at a news conference, explaining that the team needed a jolt. 'If we didn't have the expectations and the belief in our team that we do, we probably would have let this thing ride out,' McCrimmon said. 'We like our team a lot, and we think our team has a chance to win. We needed to make this change to help that happen.' John Tortorella, who had been out of the NHL since being fired by the Philadelphia Flyers on March 27, 2025, and had served as an assistant for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, took over behind the bench. Under Tortorella, the Golden Knights went 7-0-1 to close the regular season, capturing the Pacific Division title.

Cassidy's legacy and the team's turnaround

Cassidy, the longest-tenured coach in Golden Knights history, compiled a 178-99-43 record over parts of four seasons. He won the Stanley Cup in his first year with the team, in 2023. Despite that success, the organization's win-now ethos led to his ouster. 'I would've liked to have seen it through,' Cassidy said. 'We had won once before, so we knew what it looked like to win. We were a first- or second-place team most of the year. I felt like we would've got in. I don't know where we would've finished at the end. That's speculation, but yes, I would've loved to have had the opportunity. It didn't work out that way, so you start thinking about your next challenge.' The Golden Knights, now led by Tortorella, are 2-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Utah Mammoth, with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

A coaching change that shocked the hockey world

The firing of a Stanley Cup-winning coach with only eight games left in the season was widely seen as unprecedented. Cassidy acknowledged the surprise, saying, 'Yeah, you know, you grind for 74 games, and you want to be there at the end. That's the payoff, right? Playing for the Cup, getting your name on the Cup again.' He expressed disappointment at not being able to finish the job with a team he described as full of 'great guys' and 'great players.' The move underscored the Golden Knights' reputation as a franchise willing to make bold, even extreme, decisions in pursuit of championships. 'Vegas, they have their standards,' Cassidy said. 'They felt we weren't there, so they made a change.'

What lies ahead for Cassidy and the Golden Knights

Cassidy, now working as a studio analyst for TNT's NHL playoff coverage, said he is already thinking about his next coaching opportunity. 'It didn't work out that way, so you start thinking about your next challenge,' he said. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are focused on their playoff run. After Tortorella's late-season surge, the team enters Game 5 with home-ice advantage and a chance to take control of the series. The outcome of the postseason could shape the narrative around the coaching change: if Vegas advances deep into the playoffs, the decision will be vindicated; if they falter, questions about Cassidy's firing will persist. For now, Cassidy watches from a distance, a Stanley Cup champion whose tenure ended with a jolt that even he did not see coming.

The bottom line

• Bruce Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights on March 29, 2025, with eight games left in the regular season, despite winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 2023.
• Cassidy expressed surprise and disappointment, saying he wanted to finish the season and believed the team would have made the playoffs.
• John Tortorella replaced Cassidy and led the Golden Knights to a 7-0-1 finish, winning the Pacific Division.
• General manager Kelly McCrimnon said the change was made because the team needed a spark and had high expectations.
• The Golden Knights are tied 2-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Utah Mammoth, with Game 5 on Wednesday.
• Cassidy is now working as a TV analyst and said he is already thinking about his next coaching challenge.