The Vegas Golden Knights have made a late-season coaching change in hopes of halting their recent slide ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, firing Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with 2004 Stanley Cup winner John Tortorella, the team announced Sunday.
Cassidy was hired by the Golden Knights in 2022, leading the franchise to its first Stanley Cup in his first season on the job. Whatever patience that championship bought Cassidy has apparently been used up following early playoff exits in 2024 and 2025 –as well as a late slump this season.
“We thank Bruce Cassidy for his dedication to our hockey club and community over the past four seasons,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a statement. “Under Bruce’s leadership, we reached our ultimate goal in 2023 by bringing a Stanley Cup to Vegas. Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was accomplished here. With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club.”
Since the Olympic break, the Golden Knights have gone 5-10-2, the second-worst record in the NHL over that span. As a result, Vegas has slipped to third place in the Pacific Division, and it now holds a slim four-point edge over the Los Angeles Kings.
Cassidy leaves the Golden Knights with an overall record of 178-99-43, including 24-16 in postseason competition.
Tortorella brings 23 years of coaching experience to Vegas, but he hasn’t been behind the bench of an NHL team this season. The Philadelphia Flyers fired him with 10 games left in the 2024-25 campaign. Tortorella was an assistant coach for Team USA as it ended a 46-year gold medal drought at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“With John Tortorella, we bring in a Stanley Cup Champion as well as one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NHL,” McCrimmon said. “His guidance will be a great asset to our team at the pivotal point in the season we currently face. We look forward to welcoming John to Vegas.”
Tortorella led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup in 2004, and he took the New York Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, he hasn’t led a team to the postseason since he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019-20.
With 770 career wins, Tortorella ranks ninth all-time in NHL history. He’s just 12 wins behind the legendary Al Arbour in eighth place.
Cassidy falls on the sword, but problems remain
The Golden Knights have been trending in the wrong direction for some time now, but when looking at all the evidence, it’s tough to blame Cassidy for the results. The team’s record since the Olympic break has been putrid, even as the underlying numbers have been terrific.
Over their last 17 games, the Golden Knights have a five-on-five expected goals share of 58.6%, which ranks first in the league over that stretch, per Natural Stat Trick. No team has been better at preventing expected goals against, and only six teams have created expected goals at a higher rate on offense.
So, why is Cassidy out with just eight games left in the regular season?
The team’s five-on-five shooting percentage has been horrific. Vegas has finished 6.81% of its shots during the skid, the lowest mark in the league. It’s therefore unsurprising that some of the team’s best offensive players are in the midst of brutal scoring droughts.
Tomas Hertl hasn’t tallied a goal since March 4, Mark Stone has two goals since Feb. 27 (both in the same game), and the duo of Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel has combined for two goals in the last eight games. Perhaps Tortorella can give those players an offensive jolt, but much of this can be chalked up to poor shooting luck.
The bigger issue in Sin City is the goaltending, which has been abysmal all season and has cost the team several wins. The Golden Knights have started four different goalies this season, and they’ve combined to allow 30.6 goals above average, per Natural Stat Trick. Adin Hill has been especially poor, surrendering 16.2 goals above average while posting a .734 high-danger save percentage in one of the NHL’s best defensive environments.
Few teams or coaches could overcome that level of goaltending. Now, Tortorella inherits the same situation and has to make chicken salad out of chicken waste.
Perhaps the Golden Knights break out of their offensive funk, the goalies come up with a few more saves, and Totorella guides this team to a deep playoff run.
Based on how the season has unfolded of late — especially in goal — that does not seem likely. Vegas may soon discover that Cassidy wasn’t the issue. If so, McCrimmon will fall under the microscope for failing to adequately address an obvious need between the pipes.
