Rumors are swirling that Henderson Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig will be the next head coach for the Vegas Golden Knights. After a successful 2025-26 campaign with the Silver Knights, some fans and outlets are drawing him to the soon-to-be vacant head coaching position.
And who can blame them? He has prior assistant head coach experience with the Golden Knights, serving within the organization for the team's first six seasons. He even won a Stanley Cup under Bruce Cassidy, adding more credibility to his resume.
But why go with someone who hasn't been a head coach at the NHL level when you can go with a proven commodity? John Tortorella is showing exactly that with each single win as he inches closer to making the Stanley Cup Final. It's easy to see why, considering the team's responding to him well.
Let's take Friday's game as a perfect example. The team is down entering the third period, 1-0. But that didn't deter the team one bit.
"In the third period, I don’t think there’s a panic. I think they settle themselves down and they know what they have to do."John Tortorella after Game 2
That type of composure wouldn't come from Bruce Cassidy being behind the bench this season. Instead, it would've resulted in an overtime loss and the Avalanche tying the series. No disrespect to Cassidy, of course. After all, he won a Stanley Cup. Still, the Golden Knights are responding well to the new head coach and it shows on the ice.
Let's be honest: a John Tortorella-led Golden Knights team fits perfectly well in the current championship contention window
If you know anything about the Vegas Golden Knights' organization, they're a team that's cutthroat. They let go of Gerard Gallant during the 2019-20 season, even after he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in the inaugural season. They also traded Marc-Andre Fleury, who didn't even find out about the trade until he logged onto Twitter.
Sure, it rubs people the wrong way. After all, how can you treat your best employees as disposable when things go the slightest bit of awry? But it's produced results. We're talking about only missing the postseason once while making five semifinal appearances, two Stanley Cup Finals, and winning the Stanley Cup.
Also, here's a little secret that you might not know about the Golden Knights. They're not one to hesitate on letting go of their head coaches. Heck, that's become the norm of every NHL team, with the Toronto Maple Leafs being a perfect example. Letting go of a head coach after two seasons isn't as shocking as it once was. Again, let's use Bruce Cassidy as a perfect example of this.
If anything, it's better to have a short-term solution stay a little longer than a longer-term solution that won't likely produce as good a result. The Golden Knights are a veteran team that needs someone with similar experience. That will become more apparent as Tortorella moves closer to the Stanley Cup Final and *GASP* the Stanley Cup itself.
Will it last long? Probably not, considering that he has a bad temper and a penchant for hating the media. But is it worth it with the current team? Absolutely.
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