As Vegas's Golden Knights compete during the current finals of the Western Conference out where the puck drops, the franchise is simultaneously managing a couple of self-inflicted headaches that have nothing to do with hockey.
To begin with, the club's lopsided clash with how the NHL polices its media obligations cost the team a second-round selection in 2026 and left John Tortorella, the bench boss, out some money. That episode was mostly put to bed once an appeal fell short, but a separate matter concerning Bruce Cassidy, the previous coach, keeps simmering through the spring.
Vegas dismissed its former coach during late-March moves and handed the reins to Tortorella, looking for a fresh voice to guide them into the postseason this year. In the time since, the club has kept denying rivals the right to chat with the available coach as he hunts for his next gig. The tactic is legal — Cassidy stays under contract in Vegas for another season — but it carries little precedent, regardless of how recently Kelly McCrimmon, the general manager in charge, chose to portray it.
McCrimmon noted on Tuesday that his organization had stayed consistent in keeping its attention fixed on a postseason title run, and that the rival clubs had honored that. He added he'd talked with the coach, who grasps the position as well.
No fewer than four clubs are believed to want at least to sit down with the available coach in order to address their vacancies behind the bench: Vancouver's Canucks, the Maple Leafs of Toronto, the Kings out of Los Angeles, and Edmonton's Oilers. The complication for that trio of clubs is that all reside within the Pacific grouping, where Vegas competes too, handing the franchise ample motivation against hurrying into letting them chat with the departed coach.
Even if the franchise's reasoning is somewhat sensible from that angle, the league's Coaches' Association has bristled at the roadblock Vegas threw up in front of its former employee. The group also issued a statement Tuesday addressing things, noting it had been watching the matter closely. While respecting how the league runs its rules and procedures, the NHLCA stated its view: coaches still bound by deals but no longer employed by a club ought not be barred from chasing other work. The body branded it unprecedented behind an NHL bench for several franchises to find themselves refused the chance to talk with the coach, adding that the affair is still developing yet its focus rests on safeguarding members' interests whenever such circumstances arise.
Cassidy is chasing a fourth posting behind an NHL bench, having previously run things for Vegas, then in Washington with the Capitals, plus the Bruins over in Boston. He captured hockey's championship trophy with the franchise back during 2023, then took home the Jack-Adams honor recognizing the league's top coach during his Boston tenure in 2020.