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Bruce Cassidy is prone to some extended musings while fielding questions at the podium.
But the former Bruins bench boss kept things brief ahead of Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
“We use that word (legacy) around here, but I think it’s for much later, so I haven’t thought about mine personally,” Cassidy said at TD Garden. “I just want my name on the damn Cup, that’s what I want.”
1,462 days later, Cassidy finally got his wish.
After getting fired by the Bruins on June 6, 2022, Cassidy won hockey’s top prize just over a year later, hoisting the Stanley Cup in his first season as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
“It’s very rewarding,” Cassidy told TNT’s Darren Pang on the postgame broadcast. “I’m in the club now. I’m in the club and they can’t kick you out! That’s the way I’m feeling right now.”
Cassidy and the Knights triumphed over the Florida Panthers in five games, finally eliminating the underdog club that ended Boston’s record-setting run back in late April.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Vegas’ 9-3 Game 5 clincher on Tuesday, Cassidy embraced his fellow coaches on the Knights’ bench before raising his new championship hat to a raucous home crowd at T-Mobile Arena.
At long last, he finally hoisted the sought-after trophy after captain Mark Stone and the rest of the Golden Knights’ players made their rounds with the Cup.
