The Boston Bruins and Bruce Cassidy have begun discussions on a possible contract extension for the well-regarded coach.

Cassidy, 54, has one year remaining on his current deal, which expires after the 2019-20 season. He guided the Bruins to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before losing to the St. Louis Blues this year. Overall, he has a 117-52-22 record in 191 regular-season games behind Boston’s bench, and the Bruins have earned a postseason berth in each of his three seasons as their coach.

After last season concluded, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Cassidy’s contract would be addressed, but that it wasn’t a concern since the coach remains under contract. At this point, there is interest from both sides to extend Cassidy’s deal. The Bruins do not disclose the coach’s salary, but he will no doubt earn a pay raise.

NHL coaches salaries have skyrocketed the past few years. Mike Babcock, who won a Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings, earns $6.25 million per season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Former three-time Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville with the Chicago Blackhawks was was given a five-year deal worth $5.25 million per season from the Florida Panthers earlier this summer. New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who won a Cup with the Capitals in 2018, earns $4 million per season.

The Philadelphia Flyers named Alain Vigneault coach and gave him a five-year deal worth $5 million per season. New York Rangers coach David Quinn just completed his first year as an NHL coach, and he earns $2.4 million per season. Even new Buffalo Sabres coach Ralph Krueger, who hasn’t coached in the NHL since 2012-13, is making $3.9 million per season.

Cassidy should land somewhere in the $3 million range.

When the subject first came up earlier in the offseason, team president Cam Neely said he would recommend to CEO Charlie Jacobs an extension for Cassidy.

“Everyone recognizes the job he’s done and how successful the team has been, so we’ll see where it ends up,” Neely told The Athletic in June.

Cassidy had left knee replacement surgery six weeks ago and he continues to rehab. He’s walking fine and is expected to be ready and back on skates for training camp in September.

Cassidy became the second-fastest Bruins coach to earn 100 wins (166 games), behind Tom Johnson (138 games). Cassidy replaced Bruins Stanley Cup-winning coach Claude Julien on Feb. 7, 2017.

“He’s done a very good job for us, obviously,” Neely said in June. “Coming in when he did and getting us to the playoffs and then almost having two, back-to-back 50-win seasons — pretty impressive. He learned from our playoff losses and how to maybe coach a little bit differently in the playoffs.”

Cassidy’s ability to make in-game adjustments is one of his strengths. He’s also not shy to criticize, teach and coach both veteran and younger players and has an open line of communication. His learning process also continues to evolve.

The coach could stand to be a little more patient early in games when things start to go south. Cassidy preaches the importance of starting on time, and that became a mantra. When it doesn’t go to script, he might not want to get as amped up as he has in the past, and could let the game develop a little more before making changes. Maybe he can find a better way of getting the players’ attention on the bench. He shouldn’t completely change how he operates, because that mentality helps more often than not, but sometimes he needs to let the players play through early struggles.

The Bruins have enjoyed perennial success under Cassidy’s guidance behind the bench and sooner rather than later he should be rewarded with a contract extension.

(Photo of Cassidy: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)