Bruce Cassidy clears air about Bruins veterans being able to save his job

A narrative surrounding Bruce Cassidy when he was fired as the Bruins coach last June was that veteran players like Patrice Bergeron could have helped keep him in Boston longer.

Cassidy’s departure came as a bit of a surprise given he led the Bruins to six straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances — including the Cup Final in 2019.

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Many players were asked about the move ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season. David Krejci was asked if his return from the Czech league was influenced by Cassidy leaving, while Bergeron was asked about the relationship the two shared.

Appearing on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Wednesday, Cassidy was asked if he felt his job could have been salvaged had the vets of the team came to his defense.

“I don’t know. They’re gonna have opinions and should, and I don’t put it on Bergy or any one player here. That was a management decision, I feel. That’s how I looked at it,” Cassidy said. “I’ve remained close with some of those players, and we’ll always have a friendship. They played hard for me and our staff in Boston, so I don’t look at it that way.

“I just feel like (general manager) Donny (Sweeney) and (president) Cam (Neely), they felt they needed a different voice,” he added. “I think that’s what they came out and said. At the time, I disagreed, but that’s their call. It worked out great for me. So, at the end of the day, I think it was just their right to do that.”

The 58-year-old admitted some players were easier to coach than others, but it was Cassidy who made out in the end. He was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights and helped lead them to a Stanley Cup championship — something that helped “heal the scar” of losing Game 7 in 2019.

Cassidy revealed that many players he used to coach reached out to him after the Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers, including Bergeron, Torey Krug, Noel Acciari, Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Sean Kuraly. Even Sweeney reached out to Cassidy.

Now Cassidy will bring the Stanley Cup to Glover Elementary School in Milton, Mass. to help jumpstart the Cassidy Murray Foundation. Murray — who was best friends with Cassidy’s daughter — was tragically killed while on vacation with her family in March 2022.