You know that suit that John Tortorella left behind at the hotel in Raleigh last week? He can go back and claim it any time he wants. Because time is a commodity he now has plenty of.
The fiery 67-year-old who helped turn the Vegas Golden Knights’ season around and guided the team on its long Stanley Cup Playoff run only to fall two games short of defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, will not return to the bench at T-Mobile Arena this fall. The team announced Tuesday it is partying ways with Torts and is moving on to what will be the fifth head coach for the team’s 10th anniversary season come October.
The smart money is on Ryan Craig, the current head coach of the AHL Henderson Silver Knights, who has been with the team since its inception and was an ******* istant on Bruce Cassidy’s Stanley Cup-winning staff in 2023. He’s a good guy, a smart hockey person and has put in his time as both an ******* istant at the NHL level and as a head coach in the AHL. Many of the players know him, especially the younger ones like Braeden Bowman, Kaedan Korczak, and others who played for Craig in Henderson. He’s ready to take over in Vegas.
Torts? This was likely a short-term solution from the outset. General manager Kelly McCrimmon will tell you that when he speaks on the matter Wednesday morning at City National Arena. Torterella was willing to leave the comfort of the ESPN studio to get back behind the bench because that’s what coaches do. Look no further than Cassidy, who has said publicly that he wants to get back to work. And now that the Golden Knights’ season is over, perhaps he’ll be free to pursue that opportunity, perhaps in Toronto where the Maple Leafs are still searching for Craig Berube’s replacement.
And while Tortorella performed admirably in an interim role when he took over with eight games remaining, going 7-0-1 and taking Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final, perhaps it has opened the door for yet another chance down the road. He’s coached six different NHL teams — Tampa Bay, Columbus, the Rangers, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Vegas — so someone might be willing to bring him on board in the hopes he can do for them what he did for the Golden Knights, which was revive and breathe new life into a team that had stagnated.
He deserves full marks for what he did. The majority of the players loved playing for him and said so Tuesday on locker room cleanout day at City National Arena.
“It’s a tough situation for a coach to come in with that little time left,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “Just the way he was able to get us back on the right track fast and give us a chance was pretty impressive.”
Goaltender Carter Hart, who played the entire playoffs in the Vegas net and who had played for Tortorella when they were together in Philadelphia, said: “He keeps things black and white. He’s a super honest man and coach and I think as a player that’s all you can ask for is complete honesty and transparency.”
Tortorella always said he was
The fiery 67-year-old who helped turn the Vegas Golden Knights’ season around and guided the team on its long Stanley Cup Playoff run only to fall two games short of defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, will not return to the bench at T-Mobile Arena this fall. The team announced Tuesday it is partying ways with Torts and is moving on to what will be the fifth head coach for the team’s 10th anniversary season come October.
The smart money is on Ryan Craig, the current head coach of the AHL Henderson Silver Knights, who has been with the team since its inception and was an ******* istant on Bruce Cassidy’s Stanley Cup-winning staff in 2023. He’s a good guy, a smart hockey person and has put in his time as both an ******* istant at the NHL level and as a head coach in the AHL. Many of the players know him, especially the younger ones like Braeden Bowman, Kaedan Korczak, and others who played for Craig in Henderson. He’s ready to take over in Vegas.
Torts? This was likely a short-term solution from the outset. General manager Kelly McCrimmon will tell you that when he speaks on the matter Wednesday morning at City National Arena. Torterella was willing to leave the comfort of the ESPN studio to get back behind the bench because that’s what coaches do. Look no further than Cassidy, who has said publicly that he wants to get back to work. And now that the Golden Knights’ season is over, perhaps he’ll be free to pursue that opportunity, perhaps in Toronto where the Maple Leafs are still searching for Craig Berube’s replacement.
And while Tortorella performed admirably in an interim role when he took over with eight games remaining, going 7-0-1 and taking Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final, perhaps it has opened the door for yet another chance down the road. He’s coached six different NHL teams — Tampa Bay, Columbus, the Rangers, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Vegas — so someone might be willing to bring him on board in the hopes he can do for them what he did for the Golden Knights, which was revive and breathe new life into a team that had stagnated.
He deserves full marks for what he did. The majority of the players loved playing for him and said so Tuesday on locker room cleanout day at City National Arena.
“It’s a tough situation for a coach to come in with that little time left,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “Just the way he was able to get us back on the right track fast and give us a chance was pretty impressive.”
Goaltender Carter Hart, who played the entire playoffs in the Vegas net and who had played for Tortorella when they were together in Philadelphia, said: “He keeps things black and white. He’s a super honest man and coach and I think as a player that’s all you can ask for is complete honesty and transparency.”
Tortorella always said he was
19 hours ago
