The Bruce Cassidy situation is completely absurd and embarrassing

The situation unfolding across the NHL involving former Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy is incredibly absurd.

The Edmonton Oilers have reportedly sought permission to speak with the former head coach -- who was fired March 29th -- but that permission continues to be withheld by the Golden Knights. It is a situation that remains baffling for all involved and as reported by multiple insiders, it is not an issue that the NHL seems to wish to force anyone's hand on.

The Oilers are one of many teams who are currently looking to fill a head coaching vacancy after parting ways with Kris Knoblauch. They have been connected to other candidates recently but Cassidy remains a to priority for the club.

The NHL will not step in

The standard procedure when it comes to teams allowing other clubs permission to speak with a member of their staff that is technically under contract but who they are either not retaining or have fired, is that they grant permission without fail. At least as far as the public is aware.

This whole situation seems unprecedented and honestly at bare minimum, unethical. Especially when one of the reasons according to some is that they are hesitant to grant permission because of the success that Pete DeBoer had after they let him go. Which, to be frank, is an insane reason especially since they fired him.

In addition to this unethical move, according to NHL insider on his Frankly Hockey show, Frank Seravalli, the NHL will not 'overrule' the Golden Knights. Saying; “The league is not going to overrule the Golden Knights here. Contract law and contract language are just that,”.

It is not just the Oilers that are having this issue either, it is believed that at least the Los Angeles Kings have received the same answer from Vegas and with many other clubs having vacancies behind the bench, likely them as well.

Coaches association releases a statement

The inaction of the NHL on the matter and the public backlash has forced the National Hockey League Coaches Association (NHLCA) to release a statement.

Some main notes from this statement regarding the Bruce Cassidy situation is: ", it is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their Club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities."

Which again, is typically a customary and well documented and precedented thought that most NHL organizations have. The NHLCA confirm this in their statement saying: "It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy."

Will the Oilers receive permission?

At this stage it is unclear when the Oilers may, if at all, receive permission to speak with Cassidy. If the comments made by Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon on Tuesday are any indication, they may have to wait until after their playoff run ends.

Speaking with media ahead of the Western Conference Finals series against the Colorado Avalanche, McCrimmon addressed the elephant in the room.

McCrimmon says: "Teams have asked for permission to speak with Bruce. We've been consistent that our focus currently is on the Stanley Cup playoffs and the teams have respected that." McCrimmon also confirms that he has spoken with Cassidy who also understands.

Hopefully this issue is resolved soon and that the Oilers -- and any other teams -- are given permission to pursue Cassidy to fill their head coaching vacancy. As of right now, it seems like the Golden Knights are purposely stopping Cassidy from moving on to another team, at least so long as they are paying his contract.

The Oilers should continue to pursue other candidates in the meantime and see if another fit makes more sense for the club.

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