Cassidy Remembers Cave, Talks NHL Pause During Town Hall

BostonBruins.com - Bruce Cassidy knew Colby Cave from the beginning of the Saskatchewan native's tenure with the Black & Gold. He had a front-row seat for Cave's development from the time the center arrived in Providence as a 20-year-old in 2014 through his stint with the big club last season, during which he potted his first career NHL goal at Bell Centre against the rival Canadiens.

Because of that lengthy history, Boston's bench boss felt a special bond with Cave, making Saturday's news that the former Bruins forward had passed away after emergency brain surgery even more devastating.

"A very tragic situation," Cassidy said at the beginning of a virtual town hall with Bruins season ticket holders on Tuesday afternoon. "I wanted to offer, from the Cassidy family and hopefully all of the Bruins family, our deepest condolences to [Cave's wife] Emily, her family, Colby's parents Al and Jennifer and Colby's sister, [Taylor]. He was a terrific young fella.

"I had him as a 20-year-old in Providence his first year. Just a great teammate, good person, hard worker, would do whatever it takes to get to the next level. He was able to accomplish that with us.

"Unfortunately, we lost him to Edmonton on waivers [in January 2019], but just a terrific young man and very sad to see him pass away. He's one of those players that we'll never forget."

Video: BOS@MTL: Cave slides puck home for first NHL goal

Cassidy also touched on a number of other topics during the 30-minute town hall.

On how he's been spending his time during the NHL's pause:

"The kids [Shannon and Cole] have been doing remarkably well. They're nine and eleven, they get along well until they don't. There's usually that one fight every second day that you've got to break up. Overall, pretty good. I think in today's age kids are used to FaceTiming. With all the electronics, Xbox now. They're finding things to do.

"They're doing their school classes on Zoom. They're keeping educated that way. They're out in the driveway right now shooting some pucks and balls around. They're finding ways to stay active outside while still respecting the social distancing parameters."

Cassidy also said he's been making sure to get outside as much as possible for walks with his wife, Julie, and lengthy bike rides on a path through the Boston suburbs.

"We go for a long walk every day that we can, so we're kind of reconnecting in that regard. Nice to have a little bit of alone time. This time of year, coaches are generally busy and or distracted a lot. It's kind of nice to re-connect with your family. That's how we're doing things here.

"Hopefully everyone else is finding ways to spend quality time with their families and everyone is safe and healthy. We're doing well here, fortunate for our health…I try to get out for an hour, hour and a half [on the bike, too]. There's a nice trail that goes from Arlington to Lexington and out to Bedford. It's convenient and that's what I try to do.

"My son has some off-ice summer workouts he's been doing, so I've been doing some basic exercises [with him] which has actually helped me after my knee surgery."

On how much he has communicated with the players during this time:

"I've reached out to every player. Some of them were texts back and forth, some of them I talked to directly. [Par] Lindholm, for example, they had a baby girl. Tuukka's [wife's pregnancy is] around the corner. We wish them well and congratulations to Par and Nathalie.

"Some of the conversations were longer, some were shorter. Wanted to recognize the importance of staying in shape, but most importantly everybody that I talked to, their immediate family was healthy. That was the most important thing that you worry about first and foremost."

On what the coaching staff can do right now to prepare in case the season resumes:

"The first thing when we look at ourselves, this stage that we were in, was let's get our game in order, playoff-style hockey so that when we got into it in April that we're feeling good about ourselves. We feel we were getting to that part of it for the most part. We were defending well, playing as a team, trying to make sure we weren't overusing individuals anymore. That part of our game we liked.

"We've looked at who might we play if there's no more regular-season games and we go right into the playoffs. Or even who you're gonna play your last few games if it is regular season. We've started breaking down the opposition of potential playoff opponents…if nothing else, we'll have some information for next year. It would be very disappointing if we couldn't get back at it, but that remains to be seen."

On if the time off could actually benefit some of the team's older players:

"I think the rest will definitely help a handful of players on every team. There's usually some guys that are, typically, at this time of the year a little beat up. How much rest…we're probably beyond the point of what anybody would really need, other than the guys with serious injuries, like [Jake] Guentzel in Pittsburgh, [Dougie] Hamilton in Carolina, that just needed time.

"[Patrice Bergeron] could always use a little bit of time during the year, he's always dealing with a few nagging things because of the miles on his body. [Zdeno Chara], Tuukka we've managed well, but still he's seen a lot of pucks over the years…the good news is we're all in the same boat.

"This much time without being on the ice is gonna be tough for the players to get back. That's why there does have to be some thought into when we do get back at it, keep in mind that these players haven't been on the ice or at least to my knowledge they're not supposed to be on the ice."

On if injuries could be prevalent if the season does ramp back up:

"That will be interesting how the injury part of that plays out…I think that's where it could get contentious between the league and the players. You go from 0 to 60 in a hurry, especially the way the game is played in the playoffs. Everything 's a little bit unique right now. To prevent the injuries, boy, that's gonna be trial and error a little bit because no one has ever gone through this.

"If you expect to win, you're probably gonna have to be one of those teams playing at 100 miles an hour…that's gonna be a tough one…maybe teams won't practice much in between games."

On the recent college players the B's signed to entry-level contracts:

Video: BOS@MTL: Cave slides puck home for first NHL goal

"Swayman, outstanding season, saw lots of rubber at University of Maine. With Tuukka and Jaro both in their 30s, it's important to have some depth down the road at that position. I think [Daniel] Vladar had a great year in Providence. Unfortunately, [Kyle] Keyser, a young guy, got injured. But Swayman's gonna push those two for playing time next year in the American League, I suspect. But we'll see what happens with Jaro's situation down the road. Who knows? Maybe they'll be competing for a back-up spot in Boston."

Video: BOS@MTL: Cave slides puck home for first NHL goal

"I spoke to Jack, the young defenseman from out West. He's kind of in the mold of Torey Krug-type of player, understands how difficult it is to play in the National Hockey League. He spoke to people and seemed very realistic about the path that needs to be taken. We'll see what happens with him. Sometimes those guys need some time to adjust to the pro game and how to defend, defend against big men. Sometimes they just come in and hit it out of the park."

Video: BOS@MTL: Cave slides puck home for first NHL goal

"Wolf is a big man that was at Development Camp last year. That's tough to get a true gauge on a player because that's a little bit about orientation as much as anything when you come to Development Camp. Rookie Camp and Training Camp is usually a better feel for that. We'll see how he does."