{"id":680686,"date":"2026-05-19T23:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/680686\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:40:09","slug":"nhlca-calls-vegas-block-on-bruce-cassidy-unprecedented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/680686\/","title":{"rendered":"NHLCA calls Vegas block on Bruce Cassidy \u2018unprecedented\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Hockey League\u2019s Coaches Association has released a statement in defence of Bruce Cassidy<\/a>, calling the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 potentially denying him speaking to other NHL teams \u201cunprecedented.\u201dThe statement comes a week after news broke<\/a> that the Oilers had been trying to receive permission to speak with Cassidy and that the Golden Knights had been stalling them and the Los Angeles Kings from doing so.<\/p>\n

The NHLCA has been closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy. While we respect the League\u2019s rules and processes, it is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities. It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.<\/p>\n

Statement from the NHLCA:<\/p>\n

The NHLCA is led by Lindsay Pennell, who began consulting for the organization in 2016 before being promoted to president in 2019. She was appointed the organization\u2019s executive director on Sept. 1, 2023.<\/p>\n

The association isn\u2019t often heard from. In fact, its most recent statement<\/a> in relation to ongoing news came in October 2021, when they spoke out about the Jenner & Block report detailing the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault case when former player Kyle Beach sued the organization for alleged sexual assault by then-video coach Brad Aldrich.It felt as though it were a matter of time before the association spoke out regarding Cassidy\u2019s employment status. Fired by the team late in the regular season, Cassidy had one year left on a contract paying him $4.5 million, and said last Friday during an appearance on the NHL Network he was ready to get back behind a bench<\/a>.The NHL, meanwhile, isn\u2019t expected to overrule the Golden Knights<\/a> \u201cif Vegas wants to go to the mat here and not grant Cassidy permission to speak to a division rival,\u201d NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Monday.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what will come next in this saga, but the coaches association\u2019s firm stance will be one to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

Zach Laing is Oilersnation\u2019s managing editor, and The Nation Network\u2019s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report<\/a>. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing<\/a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.PRESENTED BY LeaseBusters\"\"LeaseBusters is Canada\u2019s premier lease takeover marketplace, helping drivers get out of their current vehicle leases without costly penalties or negative equity. Instead of paying thousands to break a lease, sellers connect with qualified buyers ready to take it over\u2014saving money and avoiding financial stress. Buyers benefit from shorter-term commitments and often better monthly payments, while dealerships retain a replacement customer and leasing companies keep contracts active. It\u2019s a smarter, more efficient solution for everyone involved. Four parties, four wins\u2014only with LeaseBusters. For more information, check out\u00a0www.LeaseBusters.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The National Hockey League\u2019s Coaches Association has released a statement in defence of Bruce Cassidy, calling the Vegas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-680686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}