Will the New Jersey Devils need a new head coach at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season? A shocking firing this weekend has now made the head coach a hot name on the free agency market, one that could certainly tempt general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
The Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy on Sunday despite the team's playoff position and his longtime success with the organization. In a shocking turn of events he is replaced by John Tortorella.
In his Vegas tenure, Cassidy has boasted an incredible 178–99–43 record (fifth most in that span), 24 playoff wins (fourth most), two Pacific Division titles and one Stanley Cup.
It's easy to see why Cassidy might only be unemployed for a short period of time.
However, the season is not over, and the Devils still employ Sheldon Keefe.
How long will this continue? It's really anyone's guess, but Fitzgerald revealed at the height of the New Jersey clashes in January that he and Keef are "in lockstep," and despite fan opinion, there's no reason to believe Fitzgerald's in the hot seat.
Still, in a situation where the Devils decide to move on from Keefe, is Cassidy the Devils' best option?
On the surface, his Vegas resume is certainly attractive. However, zooming the lens a little more may prove otherwise.
In Vegas, Cassidy relied on an elite defensive blueline and strong goaltending en route to winning the Stanley Cup. They didn't have a lot of elite talent other than Jack Eichel and 60% Mark Stone.
Add in the fact that Cassidy's style runs counter to New Jersey's strengths, you can imagine the Devils could look similar for the majority of 2025-26.
Cassidy's system is generally simple. Chip pucks behind the defense, win puck battles, and try for goals. The defense, meanwhile, relies on goaltending to outscore the opposition – although that has been a struggle for Vegas this season.
However, the Devils are a high speed and skill team that thrives on hustle.
Just look at how the Devils have performed this season. In the first 17 games when Jack Hughes was healthy, New Jersey compiled a 12–4–1 record and played a more open style. After Jack's injury in November, the system took off on itself, becoming less about speed and skill and more about defensive structure. Like Vegas, New Jersey's goaltending—particularly Jacob Markstrom—did not hold up.
Still, after the Olympic break, the Devils' system has reopened. This was due to Jack's return to form as his arm is back to 100%. Keefe also noted after Sunday's 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks that Luke Hughes' improved play in the latter half of the year is another obvious factor.
"Since coming back from the Olympic break, we've been focusing a lot on our game on sprinting and things like that," Keefe said. "I looked at it the other day and one of the things that drives the game in the crowd is the controlled entries and the momentum coming from the neutral zone. Jack leads our team by a country mile on individual entries since the Olympic break, and indeed that will be the case throughout the season. But Jack is also perfect in assisting others in moving the game from the crowd and controlled entries.
“Luke is there too. [Jack] And Luke is on another level than everyone else. That's a statistical way of looking at it. What those guys can bring in terms of getting our offense moving, and when we get both of them healthy and feeling good, we look pretty much like we are, OK, there's a lot of focus on how we've improved offensively here over these 16 games. Go back and look at the previous 17 games when Jack got hurt, and it looks pretty much the same.”
Hiring Cassidy would continue the move away from who the Devils are. In fact, credit goes to Keefe where it's due. He has brought them back to that style of play.
Maybe it's too late, but they're at it again, and it's clearly working with 10 wins in their last 14 games.
So, will Cassidy be an upgrade behind the bench in New Jersey? Maybe on paper. However, it's very possible that Keefe is doing enough to save his job at the end of the season.
After all, he's not wrong when he says that when we look at the Devils' performance before Jack's injury in November and after the Olympic break. Everything in between was injury-related chaos that may not impact Keefe.
We'll see what the offseason brings, but proceed with caution with Cassidy. In fact, don't be surprised if the current Devils regime gets its last blow in 2026-27.
