Vegas Golden Knights decline to retain Tortorella after Stanley Cup Final run
John Tortorella, who took over Vegas as interim coach with eight games left and led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final, will not return. GM Kelly McCrimmon stuck to a pre-existing plan to promote AHL coach Ryan Craig. Tortorella, 68, expressed disappointment but said he wants to continue coaching.
The Vegas Golden Knights will not retain interim coach John Tortorella following their Stanley Cup Final loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, according to ESPN reporting on July 24. General manager Kelly McCrimmon instead promoted Ryan Craig, who had led the team's AHL affiliate, to head coach, sticking to a plan made before Tortorella's arrival.
Tortorella was named interim coach with eight games remaining in the regular season after Bruce Cassidy was fired. Per ESPN, he led the Golden Knights to a 7-0-1 finish in those eight games, then swept the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. Vegas led the Stanley Cup Final 2-1 over the Hurricanes before losing the next three games and the championship.
Two days after the season-ending loss in Game 6, Vegas announced Tortorella would not return. The morning after the loss, McCrimmon met with Tortorella and told him within one minute of sitting down: "Ryan Craig is coaching the team next year," according to The Athletic's reporting cited by ESPN. McCrimmon had committed to Craig's promotion before Tortorella's interim assignment began.
When asked about the decision, Tortorella told The Athletic: "I guess the word I'd use is 'disappointed.'" He clarified that McCrimmon had made the organization's position clear immediately, saying the decision was not a surprise.
Tortorella, 68, has coached six NHL teams in his career and won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Before Vegas, his teams were unable to advance past the second round for over a decade, per ESPN. Asked about his next move, he told The Athletic: "Oh, I want to coach. I want to coach now. I'm not sure if that happens, and that's where I am in my career."
During the second-round series against Anaheim, Tortorella skipped a postgame news conference, ultimately deciding to join his team after Ducks coach Joel Quenneville's availability ran long. The NHL fined him $100,000 and Vegas lost a second-round draft pick as punishment. Tortorella said of the incident: "That wasn't me not wanting to do the press. That was me not wanting to hold up my team." On Craig, he said: "He's a good coach and a good man" and added that they have talked, saying "I want to help him any way I can," per ESPN.
Vegas did not retain John Tortorella as head coach despite leading the team to the Stanley Cup Final, opting instead to promote Ryan Craig as originally planned.
Vegas' choice to honor a pre-existing organizational plan over interim success reflects a different calculus than many organizations would make, but the decision has been made and is final. Watch for Tortorella's next opportunity and whether his Stanley Cup Final run regenerates interest from other NHL teams seeking head coaches. The gap between dramatic interim success and permanent employment remains stark.
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