ONLY ON FOX5: 1-on-1 with new Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - It’s been a busy day around the Golden Knights’ offices. Not only did they introduce a new head coach but they also made a trade. FOX5 went 1-on-1 with Bruce Cassidy to get his thoughts and why this team is on the verge of doing something special.

KEVIN BOLINGER: You had a ton of success in Boston. Six seasons, six playoff appearances the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. Then it ended abruptly. I know that’s the nature of the business, but what give you that hunger to jump right back on the horse and get right back to it?

BRUCE CASSIDY: Probably because we had some success there and got close. That’s what I want. I want my name on the Stanley Cup. I wanted to get right back to work, find the best fit and hopefully have some people that were interested in me. It worked out perfect. The team is really close. They had tough luck with the health last year for the group but at the end of the day that’s always important. But when we’re healthy I think we’ll be as good as anybody in the league. We’ve just got to go out there and get it done.

KEVIN BOLINGER: Everybody knows the Golden Knights are over the salary cap There has to be some changes here moving forward. How much input will you have in terms of who gets put on the trade market and who stays this off season?

BRUCE CASSIDY: I’m the coach, not the GM. So that’s Kelly’s responsibility. He’s done a great job building the roster here over the years. At some point if there needs to be communication on an area of the team that we don’t’ want to take away from I’m sure he’ll bring that up. But that’s where he earns his paycheck so I trust him to do what he has to do. I think every team goes through it at some point. It’s just a fact of the NHL that you have to get compliant and get the pieces to fit and hopefully get the best roster while you’re doing that.

KEVIN: What was it about the Golden Knights that made you say this is where I want to make my next stop?

BRUCE CASSIDY: I think they’ve got a great group. Even though they haven’t been in the league very long they’ve been in the playoffs contesting for the Stanley Cup and that’s something that’s always appealed to me, the chance to win. So great people in the organization, George and Kelly and Bill Foley. Pretty much everything. Terrific fan base. When we were here you noticed the energy in the crowd. So there’s a lot to like.

KEVIN: When you look at this roster, what stands out to you in terms of what you see with the Golden Knights?

BRUCE CASSIDY: You’ve got some young talent and some veteran talent and some guys in between. You’ve got some guys who have won the Cup in Petro and Alec so there’s good leadership in Mark Stone and Patches and younger guys like Jack that is over here now. Some solid goaltending and “D” that can get up the ice and also defend, so the pieces are there. We’ve just got to put them all together and get to know one another and get to work.

KEVIN: For the Golden Knights fans, the power play has been a bugaboo for them, all five seasons that they’ve been in existence. What are you thinking in terms of fixing that moving forward?

BRUCE CASSIDY: We’ve done good work in Boston so I’d like to implement some of the things we did there. Obviously you’ve got to get to know the players, where they’re most comfortable, where their fits fit your principles so that will be the first task. Then it’s getting on the ice and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it. There’s a lot of practice that goes into it. Then there’s execution. The last part falls on the players. The first two falls on us as a staff and we’ll make sure we do our part.

KEVIN: What’s the message to Golden Knights fans?

BRUCE CASSIDY: It’s a privilege and an honor to be here. I loved your intensity as the visiting guy and I’m gonna love it even more as the home guy.

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