Take 32 head coaches and put them in a pressure cooker. What happens when one of them breaks down and explodes? That's what Vegas Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig faces after being hired over the summer.
Rotowire pegged Craig as No. 3 in the pressure rankings with a score of 65, citing the added weight of managing an NHL team that just made a Stanley Cup Final. The study used a 100-point scale that factored in five different categories. Those categories include legacy/succession burden, goaltending volatility, win-now mandate, job security risk, and market/media scrutiny. The result? A list that shows who faces the most scrutiny—and the least.
Granted, Craig has plenty of experience within the Golden Knights' organization. The new head coach started as an assistant head coach with Vegas for six seasons before moving on to the Henderson Silver Knights as head coach.
But why is Craig facing an unspeakable amount of pressure right out of the gate? Is it that Golden Knights fans expect to win consistently (along with the organization itself)? Or are there other reasons for the new head coach's seat being so hot?
Why is Ryan Craig's head coaching seat so hot with the Vegas Golden Knights?
To summarize how hot Ryan Craig's seat is with the Vegas Golden Knights, it can be summed up in many ways. You're given a veteran group that has some Stanley Cup-winning holdovers, along with a team that made the Stanley Cup Final last season.
How will you handle the veterans on the team who were disenchanted by the previous coach before the 2025-26 season started? That's the burning question that the newest head coach faces this season. Believe it or not, that seat behind the bench is scorching hot. Think of entering the car on a hot summer day in Las Vegas.
Granted, that's an unfair assessment to make. He hasn't even coached an NHL game as the main man, yet he already faces unprecedented circumstances for being a head coach. Yet, the Golden Knights are one of the few NHL teams that expects to consistently win.
Just look at what happened to John Tortorella after leading the Golden Knights within two games of a second Stanley Cup. He made some questionable decisions during the Stanley Cup Final and cost Vegas a second-round pick. That led to the former Jack Adams winner getting shown the door.
What can Ryan Craig do to ensure a smooth transition to the NHL level?
Well, it starts with winning. Winning cures literally everything in the sports world, especially if you're a new head coach. You can buy yourself plenty of time before the pink slip hits. In fact, you can make yourself a tenured head coach if you win multiple Stanley Cups and continue winning afterwards.
Look at Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. He even went back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022 before Tampa bowed out to the Colorado Avalanche in six games.
If Craig can get things right to start his tenure, that's good news for himself—and the Golden Knights. Vegas has a history of cutting ties with head coaches quickly, even if they've taken you to the Stanley Cup Final. Getting results early and even winning a Stanley Cup can cool off the seat.
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