The Vegas Golden Knights have had a lot of changes on the bench in 2026. The Golden Knights started off the 2025-26 season with Bruce Cassidy behind the bench. Cassidy had been with the Golden Knights since the 2022-23 season. He led Vegas to a championship that season. On March 29th, he was relieved of his duties as head coach. John Tortorella was named the head coach for the remainder of the season. Before joining Vegas, Tortorella was relieved of his duties mid-season with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2024-25 season. Tortorella led Vegas back to the Stanley Cup Final. It was announced on June 26th that Tortorella would not be returning. On June 18th, it was announced that Ryan Craig would be the new bench boss in Vegas. Craig spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights. Before that, he was an assistant coach with Vegas.
Bruce Cassidy played junior hockey in the OHL with the Ottawa 67s. He won a championship with the 67s in 1984. He was drafted 18th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983. He played in 36 NHL games, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also had playing experience with the Canadian National Team, the Nova Scotia Oilers of the AHL, the Saginaw Generals of the IHL, the Saginaw Hawks of the IHL, the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL, Alleghe HC of Italy, and Kaufbeuren ESV of Germany. He did win an IHL championship in 1990 with the Indianapolis Ice. Cassidy started his coaching career in 1996 with the Jacksonville Lizard Kings of the ECHL. He was also head coach of the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL, the Trenton Titans of the ECHL, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL and AHL, the Washington Capitals of the NHL, the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, the Providence Bruins of the AHL, the Boston Bruins, and the Vegas Golden Knights. He was an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Providence Bruins, and the Boston Bruins. He has only won a single championship behind the bench. That was with the Vegas Golden Knights. His departure was sudden. Vegas has to be one of the hardest places to coach in all sports. Excellence is the expectation. While Cassidy is a good coach, Vegas decided they needed a change. Some teams are comfortable with mediocrity. Vegas seems to be willing to do anything to maintain its status as an elite force. It turned out to be the right move, as Vegas went on to the Stanley Cup Final.
John Tortorella played college hockey for the University of Maine Black Bears in the NCAA. He played from 1982 to 1986 in the ACHL with the Hampton Roads Gulls, the Erie Golden Blades, Erie Virginia, and the Virginia Lancers. He started his coaching career in 1986 as head coach of the Virginia Lancers. He has been a head coach for the Rochester Americans of the AHL, the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Vancouver Canucks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vegas Golden Knights. He was also the assistant coach of the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, the Buffalo Sabres, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the New York Rangers. As a coach, he won back-to-back championships in the ACHL in 1987 and 1988 with the Virginia Lancers. He won the AHL championship in 1996 with the Rochester Americans. He also won the NHL championship in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. His takeover in Vegas was brief. He was able to motivate the team to where they needed to be, and they just fell short in the final. I would call that a success. I thought his time would be short. I did not think he would be back for the 2026-27 season. I thought changes in Vegas would lead to changes for both the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL and the Tahoe Knight Monsters of the ECHL. It eventually did. Ultimately, Tortorella came in with a job to do and a single goal. Although coming just short of a second Vegas championship, I still think his time in Vegas turned out to be a success.
Ryan Craig played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2002 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was drafted by John Tortorella. Craig played in 198 NHL games from 2006 to 2015. He had playing experience with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the ECHL, the Hershey Bears of the AHL, the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL, the Wilkes-Berre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, and the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. He won an AHL championship in 2016 with the Lake Erie Monsters. Craig started his coaching career in 2017 as an assistant for the Vegas Golden Knights. In 2023, he became the head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights. In 2026, He became the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. This is his first NHL head coaching job. It will be interesting to see how he does this season. There are high hopes for Vegas this season. If he can not meet expectations, he will be gone. There is no mercy in Vegas. It will be interesting to see if Vegas changes up their playing style. I do expect that. This change has already affected staffing with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL and the Tahoe Knight Monsters of the ECHL. Anything less than winning the cup will be a failure by Vegas standards. They have the talent. Staying healthy and execution on the ice are the biggest challenges they will face. The question every Vegas fan has going into this season is: does Ryan Craig have what it takes to win in Vegas?
Previous Vegas Golden Knights coaches have been Gerard Gallant (who is no longer coaching), Peter DeBoer (who was with the New York Islanders last season), Bruce Cassidy (who is now with Hockey Canada), and John Tortorella (who is not coaching but wants to). The Vegas Golden Knights have had five head coaches in ten years.
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