- Tortorella spoke publicly for the first time since Vegas moved on from him after the Cup Final run
- The 68-year-old told The Athletic he was “disappointed” but respects where the organization is going
- Read below for what Tortorella said about the Ryan Craig decision and his coaching future
John Tortorella finally said his piece on the way things ended in Vegas.
He talked to Joe Smith of The Athletic this week for the first time since the Golden Knights decided not to bring him back after their run to the Stanley Cup Final. The word he kept landing on was “disappointed.”
Tortorella was asked how he took the news that he would not return:
“I guess the word I’d use is ‘disappointed.’ I was honest with Kelly. We met the next morning [after Game 6]. Kelly is very honest, and he let me know within one minute of sitting down in that meeting. He basically told me, ‘Ryan Craig is coaching the team next year.’ I told him what I thought, and we had an honest conversation. I truly respect where the organization is going.”
McCrimmon met with him two days after Game 6 and did not drag it out. Craig, the former Henderson Silver Knights coach, is the fifth head coach in franchise history.
That one stung because of how the season went. Tortorella took over on an interim basis on March 29 after Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy with eight games left. He went 7-0-1 down the stretch, then swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche in the Western Conference Final before the Hurricanes rallied from down 2-1 to win the Cup in six.
He still wanted more time to finish what he started:
“We didn’t finish the job, and I wanted some more time with that club to try to finish the job. That’s not my call. That’s the general manager and president’s call. You just get about your business after that.”
Watch Tortorella at the Cup Final podium during that Vegas run:
At 68, Tortorella is not ready to walk away. He told Smith he still wants a bench, and he wants one now, even with every job filled heading into 2026-27:
“Oh, I want to coach. I want to coach now.”
His resume backs up the ask: 777 wins in 1,628 games across 24 seasons, sixth all time in games coached and ninth in wins, plus a Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.
Vegas handed the bench to Craig back in June, a move we broke down here. The second-winningest American-born coach behind Peter Laviolette will wait on the next opening.
