I'm going to be honest with you. I'm still reeling from the shocking news surrounding Bruce Cassidy. I never expected the Stanley Cup-winning head coach to be cut loose, despite a mediocre 2025-26 season. Yet here we are with John Tortorella stepping in to take the reins.
Looking at the past 30 games, you can see why that's the case. The Golden Knights have been extremely underwhelming during that span, compared to the likes of... the Vancouver Canucks, the New York Rangers, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah, those teams.
Worst records over the past 30 games:
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) March 29, 2026
VAN: 5-22-3 (.217P%)
NYR: 10-17-3 (.383)
CHI and TOR: 9-15-6 (.400)
VGK: 11-15-4 (.433) https://t.co/X6DyqEGqhH
Sacre bleu! That's not a good look for a head coach trying to stick around. However, that isn't the only statistic that tells the story of his firing. In fact, there are quite a few stats that stand out from Sunday's shocking firing.
These stats will tell a broader story of the 2025-26 Golden Knights failing in every way. It'll put into perspective the front office's side of things and how they viewed the end of Cassidy's tenure. What went wrong for the former Golden Knights' head coach? How did the team fail in the 2025-26 campaign?
The record alone doesn't just tell the story of the Golden Knights' failures this season
Obviously, you want to look at things other than a record over a certain stretch of time. With that comes the PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage), which indicates a team's overall performance for a certain stretch. Here's where the Golden Knights stood in the past 20 games (stats courtesy of MoneyPuck).
Worst PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) teams over their past 20 games https://t.co/2TOxTAWM0U https://t.co/d1vzSi62PC pic.twitter.com/4piI8se2j1
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) March 29, 2026
Offensively, that explains how the team has stagnated in recent memory. Not getting enough offense, combined with paltry goaltending, hurt Cassidy's chances of sticking around down the stretch. On that note, what about the goaltending itself?
Well, that has been part of the complicated picture this season. The netminding group has been underwhelming, allowing 3.07 GAA as a team entering Monday (tied for 19th in the NHL). But the goaltending woes center around one man: Adin Hill (stats courtesy of MoneyPuck, minimum of 15 games started).
Goalie | Goals Saved Above Expected | Save Percentage On Unblocked Shots | Save Percentage Above Expected | Wins Above Replacement | High Danger Unblocked Shot Attempt Save Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adin Hill | -13.8 (63rd in the NHL) | .941 (59th in the NHL) | -0.0115 (66th in the NHL) | -2.30 (62nd in the NHL) | .732 (54th in the NHL) |
The stats show a goaltender who regressed horribly after a stellar 2024-25 season, breaking down in the worst way possible. Is it Vegas's fault that they picked Hill over Thompson? It's looking like it. Is it their fault that they handed out a six-year contract worth $37.5 million? Each bad start makes it seem that way.
But one can't discount that Cassidy couldn't turn water into wine with the defensive structure he was given. That's how the Golden Knights front office appears to view the situation, giving the benefit of the doubt to Hill.
How long will that benefit of the doubt last, though? That's the big question. However, one thing's certain. These stats are telling of a man who allegedly lost the locker room in 2025-26. It tells how a team seemed to stop responding to its head coach, tuning him out at every juncture.
Will that help Tortorella's chances of sticking around longer? Keep in mind that the two-time Jack Adams winner has a similar coaching style to Cassidy. He's also much more volatile with the media and players, which could get ugly quickly. Whatever the case, the stats don't lie in this scenario, painting Cassidy as if he were losing his grip on his team.