The Vegas Golden Knights are known to move rather quickly and ruthlessly, and that’s no different this offseason.
Just two days after losing the 2026 Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced that head coach John Tortorella will not be returning behind their bench next season. Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon revealed the news in a statement released by the club on Tuesday.
“We thank Torts for the guidance he provided our team since joining the organization in March,” McCrimmon said. “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 initially joined the Golden Knights in March, replacing Bruce Cassidy with just eight games remaining in the regular season. Vegas went 7-0-1 to end the campaign and then beat the Utah Mammoth, Anaheim Ducks, and Colorado Avalanche in playoff series to advance to the Cup Final, where they lost to Carolina in six games.
While with the Golden Knights, Tortorella caused the franchise to be stripped of a 2026 second-round pick and was fined $100,000 after spurning his postgame media responsibilities following the second round of the postseason. He also stuck with goaltender Carter Hart throughout the entire championship series despite Hart allowing a record four goals in each of his first five appearances against the Hurricanes.
The veteran bench boss is no stranger to short stints with a team, having done so twice before. Tortorella coached the New York Rangers for just four games at the end of the 1999-00 season before moving on to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and then spent only one year, 2013-14, with the Vancouver Canucks before being fired.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Tortorella still wants to coach again next season. There are only two other current teams with head-coaching vacancies, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers. Friedman adds that Vegas will likely consider moving up Ryan Craig, their AHL affiliate’s head coach, to their NHL bench.
In his career, Tortorella is 777-648-37 through 1,628 regular-season games spent with the Golden Knights, Rangers, Lightning, Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers. He ranks sixth in all-time games coached, ninth in wins, and fourth in losses. He won one Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Lightning.
