Edmonton Oilers prepared to offer Bruce Cassidy a massive deal: report

The Edmonton Oilers brass still seems to be very hopeful about hiring Bruce Cassidy as their head coach.

The Oilers interest in Cassidy is no secret. They’ve been interested in him even before firing head coach Kris Knoblauch. The issue is that the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired Cassidy in March, have yet to give permission for teams to conduct interviews with him.

Given the uncertainty about when, or if, the Golden Knights will allow teams to talk to Cassidy, many are thinking the Oilers may look elsewhere. They’ve reportedly had conversations with both Craig Berube and Peter Laviolette. Still, Cassidy seems to remain at the top of their wish list.

In fact, based on a new report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Oilers are willing to pay good money to land Cassidy.

“It’s clear as day that they want Bruce Cassidy,” Pagnotta said on The DFO Rundown.

“He’s their guy. He’s the guy they want. They’re willing to pay him a very handsome salary and a term contract, I believe around five years in order to do that.”

Pagnotta then went on to speculate that he believes a deal for Cassidy in Edmonton could see him get paid as much as $30 million in total.

What will be interesting to see is whether or not the Golden Knights back away from their current stance once the playoffs have wrapped up. Most seem to believe that will be the case, though from a rules perspective, they do not have to.

Should Cassidy not become available, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Oilers go with either Berube or Laviolette. If the Golden Knights do permit him to speak with other teams, however, it seems very likely that he will end up in Edmonton.

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