Former Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is bringing the Stanley Cup to Massachusetts next month in honor of a friend of his daughter's who died in an Aruban boating accident last year.
Cassidy won the Stanley Cup as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights and is using his time with the famed trophy to help launch the Cassidy Murray Foundation, a nonprofit started by the family of the 13-year-old from Milton who died in a water tubing accident while on vacation with her family in March 2022.
"Cassidy Murray would have been with our family celebrating this summer had life not taken such a cruel and terrible twist. We cannot think of a better way to honor this beautiful girl and her parents’ noble commitment to others than by coming to Boston to bring attention to the foundation in her name," the Stanley Cup-winning coach said in a statement Friday.
The public event will be held July 13 in Milton.
Cassidy Murray and Bruce Cassidy's daughter, Shannon, were friends at Cambridge's Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, having bonded over their shared name, among other things. After the girl's death, while she and her father were in a water tube being towed by a boat, the Bruins coach brought the Murrays to TD Garden while he was still coach of the Bruins, according to the foundation.
Cassidy had tried playing hockey for the first time the winter before her death, the head of her school said in a statement announcing her tragic death.
The Cassidy Murray Foundation will help other people dealing with tragic losses by offering educational opportunities for young people and mental health support.
The Murrays said Friday they were grateful for the support of the Cassidys and cherish the bond the two families had made.
The Cassidys "have sat in our home, invited us into theirs, and given us strength and encouragement, especially as we ventured out into the public eye to urge Aruba to make critical changes to water safety laws so that no family ever again experiences our pain," Cassidy Murray's father, Dave Murray, said in a statement.
