The Vegas Golden Knights simply turned much more attention-grabbing. In one of many extra beautiful head-coaching modifications in latest historical past, the Golden Knights introduced on Sunday that they’ve fired Bruce Cassidy and changed him with John Tortorella.
Cassidy coached the Golden Knights because the begin of the 2022-23 season, teaching the workforce to its first Stanley Cup championship in his debut season. They misplaced within the first spherical of the playoffs the next season and the second spherical a 12 months in the past.
Golden Knights resolution to rent John Tortorella looks like determined transfer
There are a whole lot of layers to this resolution that make it so beautiful.
You’ll be able to have a look at the truth that the Golden Knights have simply eight video games remaining within the 2025-26 common season and are a playoff workforce as a type of beautiful layers. It’s not a completely unprecedented transfer for a playoff workforce to fireplace a coach this late within the season, however this can be very uncommon. Essentially the most profitable of those strikes got here again in 2000 when the New Jersey Devils fired Robbie Ftorek late within the season, changed him with Larry Robinson, after which went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The truth that Tortorella is their coach of alternative can be staggering.
He’s a giant identify, which Vegas loves. He’s additionally extraordinarily unstable and will take this factor in any variety of instructions.
Tortorella has a robust monitor document of success within the NHL with a number of groups, however his solely Stanley Cup win got here again within the pre-lockout, pre-salary cap NHL in the course of the 2003-04 season. He’s additionally the kind of coach who can rapidly put on out his welcome with gamers resulting from his demanding model and push for gritty, bodily play.
He’s on no account a nasty coach. However whether or not or not he’s the best coach for Vegas stays to be seen.
