On Feb. 7 the Bruins announced the firing of long-time head coach Claude Julien and the promotion of Cassidy to Interim Head Coach. A former defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, Cassidy has been coaching professional hockey since 1996. His most recent post was with the Providence Bruins, where he led the Baby Bs to the AHL playoffs in every season except his first. Brought up to the parent club prior to this season, Cassidy was serving as the Bruins’ assistant coach when the call came to replace Julien.
Under Cassidy, the Bruins are 16-7 and have gone from 26-23-6 with 58 points and out of the playoffs to 42-30-6 with 90 points and holding onto the second wild-card slot.