One of the most torturous hockey seasons for Bruins fans came to a fittingly excruciating end Tuesday night when Bruce Cassidy, fired here a year ago, lifted the Stanley Cup with his new team, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Would you like a little more salt for that gaping wound, sir?

Cassidy confirmed what we already knew: he’s an excellent hockey coach. And you can bet that no one knew that better than Don Sweeney, the man who ultimately decided to cut Cassidy free back in June of 2022 after five-plus seasons, a .672 winning percentage and one painful near-miss at the Cup in 2019.

Timing is everything, and Cassidy’s time was on the Strip, not on Causeway Street. Those who now can’t grip the fact that Sweeney was on to something when he decided to fire Cassidy and eventually hire Jim Montgomery are conveniently forgetting the historic 65-win season that not even the most optimistic Bruins’ fans saw coming. That’s understandable. Regular season success doesn’t mean much in this town, even such unexpected success.

But Montgomery, who’ll have to wear some of the mistakes made in the seven-game playoff loss to the Florida Panthers, pushed the right buttons on certain players, buttons that were no longer available to Cassidy. It had nothing to do with the top players like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, but rather the mid-level and still-developing players. Players like Brandon Carlo, whose career appeared to be going sideways and enjoyed a rebirth under Montgomery. And Trent Frederic, who developed into a legitimate top-nine forward with a 17-goal season.

But while Cassidy’s demanding style wore thin with the Bruins, the Golden Knights were desperately in search of what he provided.

“He brought an intensity to our locker room that maybe we needed,” said captain Mark Stone to the TNT crew after the Knights’ five-game knockout of the Panthers.

Remember, this was a team that missed the playoffs last season. While injuries contributed greatly to the Knights’ DNQ, they suffered some big ones this year, too. When Stone – a difference-making, two-way stud – was forced out of the lineup in mid-January to undergo back surgery, it appeared that the Knights would be fortunate just to make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run.

Cassidy, however, kept the ship on course and earned the top seed in the west before Stone miraculously returned for the playoffs. Even uncertainty at the most important position – Vegas used five goaltenders this season, ultimately getting a terrific performance from Adin Hill in the playoffs after they lost Lauent Brossoit early in the post-season – could not disrupt the march to the Cup. That kind of focus and single-mindedness is a direct reflection of the coach.

But Cassidy’s best work came with Vegas’ most talented player. North Chelmsford’s Jack Eichel had been limited to 55 games over the previous two years as he battled a serious neck injury and fought his former team, the Sabres, on how to treat it. Eichel eventually got his ticket out of Buffalo and, with the surgery he wanted, his health back in Vegas.

Under Cassidy, Eichel played a winning brand of hockey, leading the Knights in scoring (66 points in 67 games) and plus/minus (plus-26). In his first taste of the playoffs, Eichel only grew in stature. He posted 6-20-26 totals in the 22 games, all while playing a sound 200-foot game. Challenged physically on a big hit from Matthew Tkachuk late in the second period of Game 2 of the Finals, Eichel came right back in the third to set up a goal. That made the statement right then that Eichel, and by extension the Golden Knights, were not going to be deterred from their goal.

So Cassidy was the right coach at the right time for the Vegas Golden Knights. In a few years, it’s good bet that he won’t be. Coaches have shelf-lives, especially hard-driving ones like Cassidy..

But with his name soon to be engraved on the Cup, he’s got the line item for his resume that he desperately wanted.

“I’m in the club now,” beamed Cassidy. “I’m in the club, and they can’t kick you out.”