BOSTON (CBS) — Bruce Cassidy is “interim” no longer, as the Bruins recently named him the 28th head coach in franchise history. GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins’ organization is certainly on board with Cassidy’s vision for the team, which went 18-8-1 with him behind the bench in the regular season and made it back to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

The newly minted Bruins head coach joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich on Friday to talk about his promotion and the future of the team. He may have already won many Bruins fans over after getting the team back to the playoffs, but the typically candid Cassidy may have won everyone over when asked if he’s talked to Claude Julien since he became head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

The two may be longtime friends and will catch up at the draft this summer, but that won’t affect Cassidy’s opinion of the Canadiens organization. After growing up rooting for the Bruins, Cassidy was not shy about sharing his visceral hatred for the Habs.

“I told you, I’m a Bruins fan, so I hate the Canadiens,” said Cassidy. “It doesn’t matter who’s coaching. It could be Claude or ‘Joe Blow,’ I just don’t like the Canadiens.

“They broke my heart too many times as a kid, so that will make the rivalry even better.”

The Bruins have yet to face the Canadiens since Montreal hired Julien as head coach, but the Bruins sure looked committed to beating them when they beat the Habs 4-0 in Cassidy’s third game as head coach. Perhaps the rivalry will be turned up a few notches when the two coaches face off against each other next season.

Listen to the full interview below:

[graphiq id=”bibav8y4RmZ” title=”Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens” width=”600″ height=”867″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/bibav8y4RmZ” ]