Golden Knights: John Tortorella Wanted to Stay on as Coach, GM Confirms

Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that John Tortorella would not be returning to Vegas next season. The coach, who joined the team at the very end of the season, will therefore have only had a brief stint with the Golden Knights.

He coached eight regular-season games… and 22 playoff games on a run that took the team all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

When Torts took the job, the plan was to keep him until the end of the team's season and then end the partnership between the two sides. However, as the Golden Knights advanced, it became clear that things weren't as set in stone as initially thought.

And today, following the announcement that Ryan Craig would be taking over as head coach in Vegas, GM Kelly McCrimmon confirmed that it wasn't Tortorella who decided to leave: the coach reportedly wanted to stay on.

It was therefore a unilateral decision by Vegas to move forward with a new coach.

“John (Tortorella) wanted to coach our team again, but we wanted to give this opportunity to Ryan Craig.” —Kelly McCrimmon

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) June 17, 2026

And clearly, this is classic Vegas. We know the club isn't afraid to make bold decisions, and it demonstrated that once again by letting go of a coach who had just led the team to the Stanley Cup Final.

There may have been doubts about whether the “Torts effect” would last… or perhaps they simply wanted to give Craig—a member of the organization since the beginning—a well-deserved promotion.

It'll be interesting to see if Tortorella lands a job next year, given that he clearly wants to continue coaching. The problem is, there's only one head coaching position left to fill… and we're talking about the Oilers, who already have their sights set on Mike Babcock.

And considering that Torts didn't even live in Canada when he was coaching the Canucks, you'd think he wouldn't be too interested in that job, hehe.

In a Nutshell

– A name to watch.

Anthony Di Marco: The Flyers aren't shopping Owen Tippett by any means, but they aren't hanging up the phone either. If they were to trade Tippett, it wouldn't be for a collection of assets, DFO was told—it would be a “hockey” trade – Daily Faceoff (6/16)

— NHL Rumor Report (@NHLRumorReport) June 17, 2026

– England defeats Croatia.

Captain Harry Kane scored England's first two goals of this World Cup, including one on a penalty shot! #fifaworldcup #england #croatia #rcsports pic.twitter.com/3m8GQo31hC

— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) June 17, 2026

– Still.

We have to add Kane (Bundesliga), who scored two goals in the England–Croatia match.

— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) June 17, 2026