The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a stellar start to the season. After dropping their first game of the year in overtime, the team is 5-0-1 since. While head coach Bruce Cassidy must be pleased with how his team is performing, he took a moment to poke fun at Brad Marchand when speaking to the media.
“I saw him bawling his eyes out on TV. He’s such a smack-talker. He’s going to hear about that on Saturday,” Cassidy said after practice on Wednesday, according to local reporter Taylor Rocha.
Cassidy and Marchand have a history together. In 2008, Cassidy took over as an assistant coach of the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins. That same year, a young Marchand joined Providence after being the 71st overall selection of the 2006 NHL Draft. Marchand would head to the NHL level in the 2009-10 season, leaving Cassidy behind.
The coach would be promoted to the head coaching position before the 2011-12 season, and then join the Bruins as an assistant in 2016-17. This reunited Cassidy and Marchand. Cassidy was promoted in February 2017 and served as the head coach of the Bruins through the 2021-22 campaign. Meanwhile, Marchand was traded during the 2024-25 season to the Florida Panthers.
“I imagine it was very emotional for him. It should be,” Cassidy continued after trolling his former player. “He was there a long time, had a family there. It would be a tough one for him. I can’t speak for him, but I don’t imagine he wanted to leave [Boston]. He landed in a great spot, so it worked out. But a big piece of him is still in Boston.”
Cassidy has firsthand experience of returning to Boston and getting a massive ovation. He got the same in 2022 when he returned to the TD Garden.
“There’s always that [question] when you go back, how the fans are going to react? But I knew they’d give him a great ovation, because he deserves it. He did a lot for that franchise,” the player's former coach concluded.
The Golden Knights are now 5-0-2 on the season. The team next takes the ice on Saturday when they visit the Florida Panthers.
