Bruce Cassidy talked about his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights, on a recent episode of Spittin' Chiclets. He outlined how it was upsetting that he couldn't interview other teams about being their head coach. This drew attention from an array of hockey fans, specifically the haters who, well, hate the Vegas Golden Knights.
But general manager Kelly McCrimmon had something to say about the situation. He talked on TSN Overdrive on Thursday about the controversy, speaking about Cassidy's current predicament. Let's just say that it was the opposite of what the former head coach was talking about.
"Yeah, I spoke to (the issue) last week prior to our series against the Avalanche. I don’t have any more to say on it at this time. It’s only news because Edmonton leaked it, so this isn’t something that came out of our organization. We’ve been forced to respond to it, which we did prior to our series against the Avalanche. But I’ve talked to Bruce (Cassidy), I’ve talked to Bruce as recently as yesterday. I know how he feels. I know he wants to coach. He’s a hell of a coach, and he’s anxious to get going. Coaches, by definition, aren’t real patient people, so I understand what he wants and why he wants it, and at the same time I work for the Vegas Golden Knights, so my responsibilities are first and foremost to the organization. And that’s as much as I’m going to say on it, in addition to what I said a week ago."Kelly McCrimmon
Now, you're looking at the title and asking, "Who's he clapping back at?" Well, that would be none other than the Edmonton Oilers, who were one of the teams requesting to interview Cassidy.
Kelly McCrimmon shows who's really complaining about the Vegas Golden Knights withholding Bruce Cassidy from head coaching interviews
Let me ask you a question, dear reader. Do you see Toronto Maple Leafs fans complaining about Bruce Cassidy right now? No. Instead, their focus is on the No. 1 draft pick (most likely Gavin McKenna) and Mitch Marner taking a dump before the Stanley Cup Final.
Not even Los Angeles Kings fans are obsessing over Cassidy's whereabouts as much as the Edmonton Oilers are. Granted, they should have a reason since they are the division rivals of the Golden Knights. But it also deflects the blame away from Vegas in a reasonable fashion.
Instead, the blame is cast on the Oilers, who leaked (allegedly) information about Bruce Cassidy. Vegas tends to be tight-lipped on matters within the organization, to the point where they get fined for not speaking at all. That's no different from this situation, where the Golden Knights looked to remain as quiet about their operations as possible.
So, give credit to McCrimmon for calling out the matter and saying what was going on. Of course, you can give him credit for other things, such as ditching Cassidy for Tortorella. But you can't help but notice that he's showing everyone what's going on behind the curtain.
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