Bruce Cassidy speaks out, is 'upset' that he cannot speak with the Edmonton Oilers

It was revealed earlier this month that the Edmonton Oilers had attempted to receive permission to speak with former Vegas Golden Knights head coach, Bruce Cassidy. Unfortunately, the Golden Knights did and continue to withhold permission from the Oilers to speak with Cassidy and according to reports, they are not the only ones.

Now, as the situation continues to draw on for multiple weeks now, Cassidy has finally spoken up, going on the Spittin Chiclets podcast and speaking about his experience which he reveals is 'upsetting'.

Cassidy is upset he cannot speak to the Oilers

While making an appearance on the podcast, former Oilers defenceman and current co-host, Ryan Whitney asked Cassidy about his thoughts on not being able to speak to teams, asking "In terms of not being allowed to talk to certain teams right now, like, does that upset you? Or is that part of the business? Where are you at in terms of your next gig?"

Cassidy responded saying "No, it's upsetting I'm gonna be honest". He went on to reveal that he (and most, if not all, other coaches) are under non-compete clauses. Meaning, they cannot pursue opportunities with other teams, legally. ",I can't resign today and go work for someone tomorrow, I can't work until Vegas gives me permission until this contract is up which is at the end of next season... If you resign, all I do is not get paid."

He later addressed the public knowledge about both the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings reaching out to speak with him. He said "Yes, there was two teams that asked, it's public knowledge now and I would like to talk to them. I wanna go to work, I'm a hockey coach."

Oilers still withheld permission

This information being leaked out -- likely not by the Oilers organization themselves -- caused the club to have to fire their head coach Kris Knoblauch. Now, weeks later, it is unclear when or if the Oilers will be allowed to speak to Cassidy, who although being fired on March 29th is still held under a non-compete clause until the end of next season, barring him from pursuing other opportunities he revealed in his interview.

The situation is still ongoing with the NHL, NHLCA, and the Golden Knights themselves publicly addressing the matter through prepared statements and during press conferences. Essentially, the Knights have pushed the conversation to after their season is over, the NHL has said they will not step in and the NHLCA of course have voiced their displeasure.

Hopefully, the Golden Knights allow the Oilers permission to speak with Cassidy but given his recent interview, it does not seem all that likely that we will see a resolution anytime soon.

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