John Tortorella has plenty on his plate as he heads into his first tenure as a Vegas Golden Knights head coach. After Bruce Cassidy was fired on Sunday for a mediocre 2025-26 campaign, the two-time Jack Adams winner has eight games left to build a solid run.
But how will the notorious hothead do it? Will he have a massive Napoleon complex and stick his hand inside his shirt? Or has he softened up to where he's no longer telling reporters to shut their yaps? Well, Tortorella revealed his intentions with the Golden Knights' system at Monday's press conference.
"We're not going to make many changes. I was texting Butchy (Cassidy) last night when I was flying in here to thank him for having the team the way it is right now. Just remember, the guy that left here is a pretty damn good coach. So I feel very fortunate coming into this situation. I'm not going to upset and fill the players with information. I have a few points of emphasis that we'll go over as a team just about mindset and odds and ends."John Tortorella
The former Stanley Cup winner stated that the team's mindset needed to be fixed. That means not many systemic changes were coming, keeping numerous fixtures from the Bruce Cassidy tenure.
So what does Tortorella mean by a "mentality change?" Well, it starts with putting a little more emotion into the team. That means actually giving a d*mn about winning games and not coasting through the season.
What John Tortorella means by keeping most of the current Golden Knights' system around
If you know one thing about Tortorella, he's known as a guy who loves to also take away space. He's known for being extremely blunt and isn't afraid to call out his team when needed. The former Lightning head coach is also known for emphasizing the net being attacked. Like, he literally hates it when his team only gets 10 shots on goal in two periods, let alone a game.
That's what Tortorella brings to the table for the Golden Knights. While harsh criticisms and a blunt personality were part of Cassidy's M.O., you're getting that with the two-time Jack Adams winner. The only difference? That will be cranked up to 1,000% when he takes to the bench for the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights have had problems with getting consistent offense from their lines this season. They've seen their top lines go through dry spells during the latter part of the season, along with longer dry spells for the lower lines. If there's one thing that Tortorella knows how to do, it's cracking his team into shape so they can stop these bad habits.
Monday's game against the Vancouver Canucks is the perfect chance for the Golden Knights to start doing this. They're playing against an inferior opponent that has nothing to play for, other than seeing which players can make next season's roster. Will the mindset change on Monday, as the new Golden Knights' head coach wants? Stay tuned.