NHL · 2 hours ago

John Tortorella not returning behind Vegas bench next season

Derek Hegna

Host · Writer

The John Tortorella era is over just as quickly as it began.

On Tuesday, approximately 30 minutes before the Vegas Golden Knights’ end-of-season media availabilities, the team announced that Tortorella would not be returning as head coach for next season.

“We thank Torts for the guidance he provided our team since joining the organization in March,” Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon in a statement. “When the decision was made to bring Torts to Vegas, we needed an immediate impact to help us at a pivotal point in the season. Torts’ experience and leadership proved to be the boost that we were looking for, helping guide us to the Stanley Cup Final. We are grateful for Torts’ passion, sincerity, and commitment to our organization, and we wish him and his family the best.”

Tortorella was brought in on March 29 in place of Bruce Cassidy with the goal of turning around a team that was starting to grow stagnant. With a new voice in the locker room, the Golden Knights went on a 7-0-1 run to seal first place in the Pacific Division. In the playoffs, the Golden Knights survived six-game wars with the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks and shockingly swept the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche en route to the Stanley Cup Final, where they were ultimately dispatched by the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.

“We made our time together in Philly so I was very familiar with him,” said goaltender Carter Hart.

“I thought he did a great job for us, came in at the right time. Just brought a spark to our group and did a really good job for us.”

Throughout the media availability, players consistently sung Tortorella’s praises about how he was able to get the team on board quickly and guided them two wins away from the ultimate goal.

“It was great to have him,” said forward Mitch Marner. “He came in and changed a lot of our moods, just brought a lot of energy, a lot of fire, so super thankful to have that.”

The Golden Knights now officially join the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs as the only NHL teams with a coaching vacancy. With Tortorella expressing a desire to coach again, it would not be surprising if he receives a call from one of the other two teams if he wants a full-time gig.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights officially begin their search for the fifth head coach as the franchise hits its milestone 10th season, although they do have some internal options worth considering if they had a built-in succession plan.

John Stevens and Dominique Ducharme arrived in Vegas with previous head coaching experience, with Stevens winning three Stanley Cups as an assistant with the Golden Knights in 2023 and the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. Joel Ward is also potentially an option who has worked his way through the Golden Knights’ system, starting his coaching career with the Henderson Silver Knights in 2020 before graduating to Vegas in 2023.

However, the early clubhouse favorite for the job has to be Ryan Craig.

The last coach remaining within the Golden Knights organization from their inaugural season in 2017-18, Craig has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Silver Knights. Craig also has a built-in relationship with general manager Kelly McCrimmon from his days captaining the Brandon Wheat Kings, so the two would likely have similar philosophies on how they want the team to play. It would also serve as an easier transition for some of Vegas’ more NHL-ready prospects such as Trevor Connelly, Braedan Bowman and Lukas Cormier.

While the Golden Knights have these options in their system already, it is expected that the team will still cast a wide net in their coaching search.

“You just kind of go to the next guy,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, who has seen playing time under all of the Golden Knights’ head coaches so far.

“I think over my time here, we’ve had a lot of really good coaches. Sometimes, that’s just part of the business. I was definitely grateful for Bruce coming in and what he did and being able to win with him. It’s going to be a different feeling having somebody in new, but I think that’ll be kind of a fresh start.”