The Vegas Golden Knights added a former NHL bench boss and an ex-player in the league to head coach Bruce Cassidy's staff.

Dominique Ducharme and Joel Ward joined Vegas as assistant coaches, the club announced Wednesday.

Ducharme guided the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 after taking over for the fired Claude Julien that February.

However, the Habs stumbled out of the gate the following season, going 8-30-7 before Ducharme was replaced by Martin St. Louis. Ducharme had been an assistant with Montreal since 2018. He led the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup championship five years earlier and also helmed Canada's national junior team in 2017 and 2018, winning silver and gold, respectively.

Ward spent the last three seasons as an assistant with the Golden Knights' AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The former winger played parts of 11 NHL seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks. He helped the latter squad get to the Cup Final in 2016, collecting seven goals and six assists over 24 playoff games.

Cassidy led Vegas to its first championship in what was the team's sixth season.

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