After Sunday's massive shakeup in the Vegas Golden Knights' locker room, the NHL was left in utter shock. How could a team let one of the league's best coaches go? Were the rumors that the veteran players weren't comfortable with him true?
Whatever the case, it's a literal wake-up call for the Golden Knights. A team that's hanging by a thread in the playoff race needs a shake-up that'll get them going. Jack Eichel stated that on Monday as he talked about Cassidy being fired and John Tortorella being brought in.
"Wake up call for the group. It's a message that the management believes in us but we have to play better."Jack Eichel
Entering Monday's game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Golden Knights had 80 points. They were four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (who had a game in hand) and five points ahead of the Seattle Kraken (who had two games in hand). That's not even mentioning other teams like the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets, who were trailing the Golden Knights in the standings.
Certainly, there's plenty of truth to the statement. The team mentioned how they played with little emotion this season, even against a heated rival like the Edmonton Oilers. Could Tortorella provide a much-needed spark in the locker room and wake the Golden Knights up? Or will it backfire in their faces and hurt Vegas in the long term?
Why Jack Eichel's words make sense regarding Bruce Cassidy's firing
When your team is given the expectation that they should win the Stanley Cup with Mitch Marner in tow, you must play like that team. That means beating teams you're supposed to beat and taking care of playoff-bound teams. That hasn't been the case for the Golden Knights this season, where they've played with a flaccid feeling (better get a blue pill for that).
Could that be from Bruce Cassidy not instilling a sense of urgency and losing the locker room? Maybe. Was it that the team simply didn't care? Who knows. However, one thing was certain: the team didn't have the emotion to compete at the highest level.
That's what Eichel is implying with the latest comments. The team desperately needs a wake-up call after slumbering through the 2025-26 season. Mind you, this was a group that was expected to contend for the Stanley Cup starting this season. All that fell to the wayside as the team collapsed under the heavy expectations.
Maybe Tortorella is that wake-up call. Who knows. Fans should root for whoever sits behind the bench for the Golden Knights in hopes that they'll lead the team to victory. But one thing's clear with this season's Golden Knights: there isn't much time left to steer the ship in the right direction.