John Tortorella is an interesting being. The Vegas Golden Knights head coach has some of the funniest interviews with the press, giving blunt yet hilarious answers about his team. Fans will even recall him telling another head coach to "shut his yap."
Ah, instant classic.
That trend continued on Wednesday after the Golden Knights' 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. When asked about Vegas's first round opponent, the Utah Mammoth, Tortorella only had one word to describe the matchup. Can you guess what word he said?
"Do you have any first thoughts on Utah?"
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) April 16, 2026
"No" -Tortorella
That's right. Classic Tortorella for you. Always giving blunt answers and funny quips to the media. Of course, they can be absolutely grating and off-putting at times. But he gets directly to the point with his answers.
That could help the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Mammoth in the first round, too. The experience advantage clearly goes to Tortorella, for he's won a Stanley Cup as a head coach (2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning). Meanwhile, the other side is hurting for experience, with many Mammoth players experiencing playoff hockey for the first time.
The Vegas Golden Knights are fortunate to have John Tortorella behind their bench for the 2025-26 season
Imagine a Golden Knights team floundering after a shootout loss to the Washington Capitals. The team looks exhausted after relying heavily on the downward spiral known as Adin Hill. Suddenly, Bruce Cassidy gets fired and John Tortorella comes in.
That turns into a complete vibe shift, where the Golden Knights go on a 7-0-1 run to close out the season. They win the Pacific Division by clobbering a pesky Kraken team and get home-ice advantage for the first round. That's the Tortorella experience in Las Vegas as the Golden Knights have a newfound swagger to them.
That swagger might sound dismissive and add fuel to the Mammoth's fire. After all, they have the better team (at least, on paper). However, the Golden Knights are rolling and are playing high-level hockey at the right time. All of this is thanks to their new head coach.
That could be the thing that gets them on a deep Stanley Cup playoff run in 2025-26. Before the two-time Jack Adams winner came into town, Vegas had no life and no energy. That all changed when Kelly McCrimmon pulled the trigger and brought in a seasoned veteran.
Now? The team is playing like it can take on the world. After beating Stanley Cup contenders like the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche, that certainly seems to be the case. You must like Vegas's chances, should they defeat the Mammoth in the first round.
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