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Bettman: Bruce Cassidy situation ‘completely reasonable’
Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Jun 2, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 2, 2026, 17:24 EDT
The Bruce Cassidy situation is “completely reasonable,” according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Ahead of Game 1 in the Stanley Cup Final, commissioner Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly held a “state of the union” press conference addressing the league’s strengths and potential future changes.
During this press conference, Bettman was asked about the Vegas Golden Knights withholding permission for teams, like the Edmonton Oilers, to talk to their ousted coach Bruce Cassidy. It seems like the league will not get involved in the situation.
“When you sign and insist upon a long-term contract, there are certain policies and consequences of that, and so where we find ourselves is completely reasonable,” Bettman told reporters in Raleigh on Tuesday.
Daly expanded on that thought, standing behind the contract that Cassidy signed with Vegas back in 2022, which was a five-year deal that made Cassidy one of the highest-paid coaches in the league at $4.5 million.
“Obviously, we don’t find it unreasonable, because we’re allowing it to happen,” said Daly.
“I do think Vegas is clearly within their contractual rights to do what they’re doing, and we also understand and appreciate that they’re on a Stanley Cup run right now, and they don’t need the distractions necessarily where we go from there. Obviously, we’ve talked to all the parties involved in this, including Bruce, so he knows what our position is on the subject. He might not be happy about it, but he was accepting of it. We’ll see where we go.”
Daly added, “There are contracts that exist in the league that would not allow for this to happen. This was not one of them.”
Despite this, there’s been some confidence from connected people within the league, like John Shannon, who still believe that Cassidy will be able to interview eventually.
Cassidy was on Spittin’ Chiclets last week and said it’s upsetting because he wants to coach.
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.
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