The Vegas Golden Knights have turned the page on a tumultuous 48-hour period that saw Bruce Cassidy fired and John Tortorella installed as head coach. With seven games remaining in the regular season, the team sits in a favorable playoff position, holding a lead over non-playoff teams.
Five of those final seven contests are against opponents currently outside the postseason cutline, starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena. The margin for error is slim, but general manager Kelly McCrimmon felt a change was necessary to reignite a group that had stagnated since the Olympic break.
“The easiest thing in the world is to do nothing, right?” McCrimmon said Monday. “And, we wouldn’t be having this press conference if that was the path that we chose.”
Tortorella, who led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup in 2004, inherits a well-structured roster rather than a rebuild. He texted Cassidy on his way to Las Vegas to thank him for the foundation left behind.
“I’m very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with this management, this group of players because the organization is so well-respected, I don’t want to let them down,” Tortorella said. “I am going to prepare myself each and every day to be the best I can be, the best version of me to help the team.”
The new coach faces immediate decisions in net. Carter Hart, sidelined since January with a lower-body injury, has returned to practice and is expected to play before the regular season ends. That creates a three-goalie situation with Adin Hill and Akira Schmid. Tortorella coached Hart in Philadelphia and expressed enthusiasm about reuniting.
“Three goalies, it’s a tricky thing to do, especially at the end of the year when you are really trying to figure out hoping you get in and getting your team ready to play in the playoffs,” Tortorella said.
The Knights (4-2 win over Vancouver in Tortorella’s debut) now have two days to decompress before facing the Flames. The final stretch promises to be the most intriguing in recent memory for a franchise that has already made one bold move.
