Golden Knights Fire Stanley Cup-Winning Coach Cassidy, Hire Tortorella and Reach Final

John Tortorella took over the Vegas Golden Knights with eight games remaining in the regular season and guided the team into the Stanley Cup Final. The Golden Knights are tied 1-1 with the Carolina Hurricanes heading into Game 3 on Saturday. General manager Kelly McCrimmon fired Bruce Cassidy after the team lost six of its past seven games.

Cassidy had coached the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup in 2023 and kept the team in a playoff position entering late March. Tortorella, 67, last coached the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2024-25 season. He has recorded more than 770 combined regular-season and playoff wins and won one Stanley Cup as a head coach.

He also served on the staff that led the United States men's Olympic hockey team to its first gold medal in 40 years. The Golden Knights overcame a first-round deficit against the Utah Mammoth, broke a 2-2 series tie against the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, and swept the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals. McCrimmon said the change produced visible results.

"There are times when a change has some benefits. I think he's been able to catch them doing things right, and we've got the best of Torts," he said before the Western Conference finals. McCrimmon added that Tortorella's enthusiasm has spread through the roster.

"He's really enjoying his time here. But I think he's loved every bit of it, so that enthusiasm is infectious. " Tortorella said he adjusted his approach to the roster. "We're still involved, but I think you need -- especially with this team when I came here, I think you need to respect the athletes.

I think I need to coach this team different than I was coaching in Philly.