Cassidy Soaking In Awards Experience

LAS VEGAS- Bruce Cassidy is being realistic about his chances to take home his first Jack Adams Award on Wednesday night.
"I've been working on my runner up or runner up to the runner up speech," Cassidy said with a smile during Tuesday's NHL Awards media day. "I've got that down pat."

With Vegas Golden Knights bench boss Gerard Gallant the odds-on favorite to be tabbed as the league's top coach after leading the expansion team to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, Cassidy knows he may have to wait to capture any hardware.
"Gerard, just a great situation… it was almost a Cinderella story, the whole program, the following, the work by [Washington GM] George McPhee," said Cassidy, whose other competition is Colorado's Jared Bednar. "If you've ever met [Gallant] it's hard not to like him…he's done a terrific job as well."

Nonetheless, the 53-year-old is making it a point to soak in the Vegas experience this week.
"For me personally - I don't want to get all sappy - it's a nice honor," said Cassidy, who guided the Bruins to a 50-20-12 record and a trip to the second round of the playoffs in his first full season at the helm.
"I haven't been around that long, I appreciate it. It's been a grind to get back here. For me, it's nice to be among peers and to be here in this environment.
"You sort of feel that you're starting to belong. When you're around these types of festivities or awards or people, the industry, that part is very rewarding."
Photos: Cassidy Takes Lesson From Famed Golf Coach Butch Harmon
Perhaps that appreciation stems from the long and winding road it took for him to get here. After a season-plus as coach of the Washington Capitals from 2002-04, Cassidy had to wait some 14 years for another chance at being a head man in the NHL.
"There were certain times when you wonder if you'll ever get your chance, start thinking, 'Well, maybe my calling is I'll be very good in the American Hockey League, I'll deal with the prospects, let someone else work on getting them to be Stanley Cup champions,'" said Cassidy, who spent eight seasons with the Providence Bruins (five as head coach).
"If that's all there is to it, then focus on your personal life, being a good dad, husband and that's it. But all of a sudden it changed quick. Here you are and now you reset your goals.
"This was something I always wanted, but just didn't know if it was going to happen."

There was, certainly, plenty of growth during that nearly decade-long stretch in the American Hockey League - a time when Cassidy learned that adaptation and determination are crucial to any sustained success.
"Now here you are here…you can't get comfortable at this level. You see the change that goes on," said Cassidy, who has compiled a 68-28-13 record since taking over in February 2017. "Being in Boston this year, looking up at the banners, you see the fans, how much passion there is for it - and our players, how much passion they have, especially those older guys. So you want to make sure that you're a part of that."
That work towards adding another banner to the TD Garden rafters is just beginning.
"You watch Washington lift the Cup and how close Vegas was. Man, it looks like a nice feeling," said Cassidy. "I was around for it on the outskirts in Vancouver in 2011 and had the chance to lift it. But it's not the same when your fingers are in the middle of it.
"You don't like to finish the way we did, so there's unfinished business."