06/16/26 02:56:00
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06/16 14:54 CDT John Tortorella not returning as coach of the Vegas Golden
Knights
John Tortorella not returning as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
John Tortorella will not return as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights after
guiding them to the Stanley Cup Final on an interim basis.
Uncertainty lingered over the situation through the team's elimination in Game
6 of the final against Carolina on Sunday night. General manager Kelly
McCrimmon announced Tuesday that Tortorella would not be back.
"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."
McCrimmon hired Tortorella on March 30 when he fired Bruce Cassidy with eight
games left in the season. The Golden Knights won seven of them and then got
through three rounds before losing to the Hurricanes in the final.
Players spoke highly of how Tortorella handled jumping in this spring, and that
praise continued on exit day after finding out he would not return. Rasmus
Andersson said Tortorella "was a perfect fit at a perfect time for us."
"Torts was awesome," fellow defenseman Shea Theodore said. "I think he was
really what our group needed at the end to kind of push us in the playoffs. A
lot of credit to him. He was a fantastic coach."
Tortorella, who turns 68 next week, is 22 years removed from coaching Tampa Bay
to the Stanley Cup in 2004. After his time with the Lightning, he spent time
running the bench for the New York Rangers, Vancouver, Columbus and
Philadelphia and was out of the league for roughly a year before getting the
call from McCrimmon.
"It's a tough situation for a coach to come in with that little time left,"
said Vegas' Noah Hanifin, who won gold at the Olympics when Tortorella was on
staff as an assistant. "And just the way he was able to kind of get us back on
the right track fast, and give us a chance, was pretty impressive."
Tortorella took criticism in recent days for deciding to stick with goaltender
Carter Hart, whose .863 save percentage was the lowest in the final since
Minnesota's Jon Casey in 1991. Hart and Tortorella overlapped with the Flyers
from '22-24.
McCrimmon is scheduled to speak to reporters on Wednesday. One avenue Vegas
could go with for Tortorella's successor is promoting Ryan Craig, who has been
coach of its top affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey
League, for the past three seasons.
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AP freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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