DENVER (AP) — The NHL Coaches’ Association said Tuesday it is closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy amid reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have denied multiple teams permission to speak with him about working for them.
Cassidy was fired in late March and is still under contract through next season, so anyone wishing to interview him must get permission from the Golden Knights, according to league rules.
“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,” the Coaches' Association said in a statement. “It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.”
Vegas has reportedly not allowed Pacific Division rivals Edmonton and Los Angeles to talk to Cassidy when asked since their seasons ended. Word of the Oilers' interest in Cassidy leaked last week before they fired Kris Knoblauch following a first-round playoff exit.
It was not clear if teams in the Eastern Conference or elsewhere in the West sought or received permission to interview him. General manager Kelly McCrimmon confirmed teams have asked for permission to talk to Cassidy.
“We’ve been consistent that our focus currently is on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the teams have respected that,” McCrimmon said at a news conference ahead of Game 1 of the West final at the Avalanche on Wednesday night. "I’ve spoken with Bruce. He understands this, as well."
Cassidy, who turns 61 on Wednesday, guided the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023, helped Boston reach the final in 2019 and won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in the pandemic shortened '19-20 season. He was an assistant on Canada's staff at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
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FILE - Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy stands behind his bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
HEBRON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday in another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein to oust the incumbent.
The result showed the president’s persisting influence over GOP voters and adding to a growing number of Trump-backed primary challengers to defeat Republican lawmakers who angered him in his second term, including Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and several Indiana state senators who defied him on redistricting.
Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, is one of the last and most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticized the war in Iran and voted against the president's signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.
Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, ran on his military service and loyalty to the president and accused Massie of forsaking Trump and the party. He is expected to win the general election against Democrat Melissa Strange in the deeply red district.
The president visited Kentucky to boost Gallrein in March.
The primary turned white hot in the final stretch of the campaign as Massie recruited a phalanx of other Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert, in an attempt to show voters that they could support both him and Trump. Trump ratcheted up his social media attacks on Massie, calling him “an obstructionist and a fool,” and Gallrein shared a stage with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday.
The race was the most expensive U.S. House primary in history.
Also Tuesday, Republicans statewide chose U.S. Rep. Andy Barr as their nominee to replace Mitch McConnell, the longtime U.S. Senate leader. In a contest representing a generational changing of the guard for the party, Barr, who was endorsed by Trump, bested Daniel Cameron, a former state attorney general who leaned into his Christianity on the campaign trail.
Massie's challenge was to win over voters who generally think favorably of Trump, the same man telling them to vote for Gallrein. It was not the first Republican primary Trump has tried to sway, but Massie's overt rebelliousness has been a particular challenge to the president.
Gallrein embraced the role Trump gave him and focused his pitch to voters on his personal history and unwavering loyalty to the president.
Some voters were fed up with Massie bucking the party.
George Scherzer, who lives in the small town of Crestwood, supported Massie in past elections but did not like his lack of support for some of the president’s agenda, including last year’s tax and spending bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
“Some of his votes just did not make sense to me,” Scherzer said.
Massie noted that he voted with his party the vast majority of the time. As for the remainder, he said those were on proposals that violated his America First principles such as adding to the national debt and getting into military entanglements like the war with Iran.
Massie has voted against U.S. aid to Israel and faced accusations of antisemitism. He has denied the charges, arguing that he is generally against all foreign aid. But the race drew in millions of dollars against him from pro-Israel interest groups, including from the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund.
That became a stump topic for Massie, who said the attempt to oust him was to send a warning to other lawmakers who oppose the president or aid to Israel.
In a last-minute pitch to Kentucky Republicans, Boebert posted photos of her with Massie and with Trump on the social platform X, saying, “I support both of these men.” Replying to that, Massie said: “she likes both Trump and me! Yes it’s possible!!”
Trump lashed out at Boebert on his Truth Social platform, asking for a Republican to challenge her — even though the filing deadline in her home state of Colorado has already passed. “Anybody that dumb deserves a good Primary fight!” he wrote.
The president swayed the race not just through his endorsement but by offering a third challenger, Nate Morris, an ambassadorship just over two weeks before Election Day. Morris, who fashioned himself as the MAGA candidate, withdrew from the race and encouraged his backers to support Barr.
Barr was first elected in 2012 in the 6th Congressional District. As with Gallrein, he is expected to win the general election in the Republican-dominated state.
During the campaign both Barr and Cameron tiptoed around their relationship with McConnell, whom they previously called a mentor.
McConnell criticized Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and more recently voted against some of his Cabinet picks. He is stepping down after becoming the longest serving Senate leader in American history, coinciding with a transformation of the party under Trump.
Many Republicans, while admiring McConnell's achievements, see him as out of step with the Make America Great Again and America First movements spawned by Trump. Both Barr and Cameron took note, and while ingratiating themselves to the president, they put some distance between themselves and the senator.
Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.
Republican congressional candidate Ed Gallrein greets supporters during an election night event Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Workers attach a sign for Republican congressional candidate Ed Gallrein before he speaks at an election night event Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Former Kentucky Attorney General and candidate for U.S. Senate Daniel Cameron speaks on stage during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, a Trump-endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks to guests of the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Republican Kentucky candidates for U.S. Senate Daniel Cameron and Andy Barr shake hands during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Republican congressional candidate for Kentucky, Ed Gallrein, speaks on stage during the Kenton County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Covington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, speaks to reporters after a Kentucky Educational Television (KET) debate, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
