After falling two wins short of another Stanley Cup championship, the Vegas Golden Knights parted ways with interim head coach John Tortorella after just eight regular-season games and one playoff run. His 30-game tenure is by far the shortest in franchise history, a stark contrast to Gerard Gallant (240 games), Peter DeBoer (199 games), and Bruce Cassidy (360 games), all of whom received multiple seasons behind the bench. With Ryan Craig now taking over his first NHL team, history suggests the Golden Knights are prepared to give him a much longer opportunity to succeed.
Golden Knights coaching history includes extended runs
Vegas’ first coach, Gallant, led the team to a 51-24-17 record in their inaugural season, capturing the Pacific Division and Western Conference crowns. In the playoffs, the Golden Knights went 12-3 en route to the Stanley Cup Final, before losing to the Washington Capitals 4-1. During his second season behind the bench, Gallant guided Vegas to a 43-32-7 record, good enough for third in the division, and an unfortunate Game 7 loss to the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
In 2019-20, the Golden Knights treaded water under Gallant, going just 24-19-6 before the club fired him on Jan. 15, 2020, to replace him with Peter DeBoer. At the end of the shortened season, Vegas won the Pacific Division with a 39-24-8 record, including an impressive 15-5-2 under their new coach. In the bubble playoffs at Rogers Place, the Golden Knights were 11-4 going into the Conference Finals, including 3-0 in the round robin, before falling to DeBoer’s future team, the Dallas Stars.
With DeBoer behind the bench for a full season, Vegas won the West Division with a 40-14-2 record and advanced to the third round of the restructured playoffs, going 10-9. Their run ended in the Semi-Finals at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in six games. However, the worst was yet to come for Vegas and DeBoer, who dropped to fourth in the Pacific Division in 2021-22, thanks to a 43-31-8 record. That season’s club remains the only one in franchise history to miss the playoffs. Eventually, the Golden Knights fired DeBoer on May 16, 2022.
Golden Knights finally capture the Stanley Cup
About a month after firing DeBoer, Vegas found a new head coach on June 14, 2022: Cassidy, who had just led the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. In his first campaign behind the bench, the Golden Knights won the Pacific Division with a 51-22-9 record, tying the wins record (51) and setting a franchise-high mark for points (111). In the playoffs, the team was 12-5 going into the Stanley Cup Final before defeating the Florida Panthers in five games to capture the franchise’s first championship.
However, history repeated itself, as Vegas took a step back in 2023-24. They finished fourth in the division and earned a wild card spot, losing to the Stars, led by DeBoer, in a seven-game series. But the following year, as if almost nothing had happened, Vegas rebounded and won the division again with a 50-22-10 record. However, after sneaking by the Minnesota Wild in six games, the team lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games in round two.
In 2025-26, the Golden Knights were once again playing mediocre hockey and ran the risk of falling out of a top spot in the Pacific Division. With only eight games left, the club fired Cassidy, who was 32-26-16, and brought in Tortorella. The former Stanley Cup-winning coach went almost perfect, 7-0-1, in the final two weeks of the season before helping Vegas reach the Final for the third time in nine seasons. Despite an impressive 12-4 record through three rounds, Tortorella had his fair share of hiccups that cost the front office more than just fines.
Craig is no stranger to the Golden Knights organization
After losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games, Vegas parted ways with Tortorella and brought in Craig, a former assistant coach under Gallant, DeBoer, and Cassidy. He was part of the coaching team that won the Stanley Cup before accepting the head coaching gig with the Henderson Silver Knights in 2023-24.
Like their parent club, the Silver Knights have had the same coach for at least three seasons. Manny Viveiros ran the team for three seasons, followed by Craig, who was there for three seasons. Ultimately, whether in the NHL or the AHL, the Golden Knights organization values stability in its head coaches, and Tortorella is the rare exception to the rule. Since Craig has been part of the organization from day one, he’ll have the chance to run it back for at least a season or two before someone feels a change is necessary.
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