Kelly McCrimmon wanted to go in a different direction when he hired Ryan Craig this summer. He was hoping for a younger head coach who would last longer than four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. After all, the last two head coaches were winners, yet they came off as total hotheads.
Bruce Cassidy brought the Golden Knights their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, yet his own players tuned him out for the 2025-26 season. Then comes John Tortorella, who rattles off a 7-0-1 run to end the regular season and... gets in trouble for not speaking to the media. That'll cost you a second-round pick, sir.
Thus, why Kelly McCrimmon ultimately decided to go with someone who's been with the organization since "Day F*****g One." He wanted a head coach familiar with the organization, whether it was as an assistant head coach with the Golden Knights or leading the Henderson Silver Knights.
With that, let's look at what fans should expect from Craig in his first season. Should Golden Knights fans expect another Stanley Cup from the new head coach or should they pump the brakes? Let's dive into the scenarios and see what to expect, shall we?
Looking at the history of first-year head coaches in the NHL
Believe it or not, there have been multiple NHL head coaches who've made the Stanley Cup Final in their first season with a team. Obviously, Cassidy is one of those head coaches, winning it all in 2023. But there have also been plenty of notable names that made the Stanley Cup Final in their first season as rookie head coaches outright.
One of those names is Mike Keenan, who led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in his first head coaching season in 1985. He would go on to make three more Stanley Cup Final appearances, leading the New York Rangers to their celebrated 1994 Stanley Cup victory.
Then, there's Jean Perron, who led the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup in 1986. That was his first season as well, as he capped off a 40-33-7 campaign with the most prestigious title in sports. Although that campaign wasn't as successful in the regular season as Keenan's (53-20-7 regular season record with the Flyers), he got the ultimate prize in the end.
Therefore, it's not far-fetched to think that Craig can pull off something similar. He has a loaded forward roster that can do damage, even without names like Pavel Dorofeyev and Keegan Kolesar. Still, it's realistic to believe that the Golden Knights take a step back, especially in the next season after a Stanley Cup Final run or better.
Why the expectation should be that Ryan Craig makes the postseason at a minimum
Now, this is going to ruffle some feathers within the Golden Knights community. That's especially true when the expectation is for the team to be consistent Stanley Cup contenders. But let's look at those two seasons after the Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup Final, shall we?
In 2018-19, the Golden Knights lost to the San Jose Sharks in the First Round in seven games. Yes, there was the fabled "Major That Should've Been A Minor" call that plagued the team. But you had other opportunities to close out the series (i.e., on a power play in Game 6). In 2023-24, the Golden Knights lost to the Stars in seven games of the First Round matchup. That was after Vegas took the first two road games of that series.
The bare minimum should be a playoff appearance, considering that the goaltending isn't the league's best. Still, the Pacific Division is down and Vegas's rivals haven't necessarily gotten better. If Craig can exceed said expectations with a playoff series win, then things are on the right track.
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