By Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic)
Ken Hitchcock filled a reporter’s notebook like no other during his time behind an NHL bench.
You could walk into a press room without a clue of an angle for your next piece and walk out with four different ideas after the Hockey Hall of Fame coach was done talking.
In today’s NHL, I would argue Paul Maurice is the clubhouse leader as far as head coaches who engage best with the media in that way. Maurice spent time at TSN years ago as an analyst between coaching gigs, which didn’t hurt, but he’s always been a thoughtful interviewee.
Rick Bowness, Jon Cooper, Pete DeBoer, Mike Sullivan, Rod Brind’Amour, Todd McLellan, Lindy Ruff and Bruce Cassidy are among the other veteran coaches who aren’t afraid to offer insight into hockey matters outside their own team, bringing the fans deeper into the game in doing so.
All of which is why it was a treat to have Maurice and Cassidy take center stage in June during the Stanley Cup Final. They filled up plenty of notebooks.
So it was no surprise last week when Cassidy joined the Got Yer Back podcast with myself and co-host Ryan Rishaug that the Vegas Golden Knights head coach peeled back a few layers.
Talk about a transparent and honest answer when we asked him what it was like last season seeing his old team, the Boston Bruins, put up a historic point total in their first year without him.
“Well, it was stressful,” Cassidy said. “I had a strong attachment. I was 15 years in that organization. It wasn’t just Boston. it was Providence as well. Coached a lot of those players as young guys. So you’re attached to them, not only in your professional life, but in your personal life. I’ve watched them become husbands and parents. My wife was close to some of the spouses.
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