Is Vegas Golden Knights Massive Trade-Off for John Tortorella Worth It?

Monday, May 25, 2026


Under the leadership of head coach John Tortorella, the Vegas Golden Knights are 14-8-1 in the postseason. 

Tortorella took the reins from Bruce Cassidy after being hired on March 30th, 2026. He concluded the regular season with eight games left, going 7-0-1 and pushing the Golden Knights into playoff contention. 

With the Colorado Avalanche on the cusp of elimination, it's not difficult to understand the impact he's had on the Golden Knights. Putting his faith in forward Mitch Marner, who could be a candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, scoring 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) in 15 playoff games. 

"You guys don't see the stuff he does," Tortorella told reporters Saturday. "People here, people in Toronto, all the people that talk about this guy, they don't see any of the things that he brings to a game even if he doesn't score a goal. I've known that coaching against him.


"That narrative (that Marner struggles in the playoffs) is a bunch of (expletive). Like I said last night, Mitch doesn't care. Mitch is a pro. He's a terrific player, one of the top players in this league and he plays for us."

In typical Tortorella fashion, he refused to speak to the media after clinching a trip to the Western Conference Finals.  This resulted in a fine of $100K and a loss of a 2026 second-round pick. 

Despite this loss, the firing of Bruce Cassidy has to be questioned, right? Cassidy never begrudged reporters access to the team or himself after a monumental win.

With the Golden Knights, is this a sound business decision? Of course, the cost of doing business in the NHL is expensive, and losing draft capital is a bad idea in the long-term, whether you use your picks or trade them. 

Has John Tortorella Been Worth The Extra Cost for the Golden Knights?

Has John Tortorella been worth it?


Arguably yes. 

We've seen what a team can do before, in 2019, when he helped the Columbus Blue Jackets sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Under Tortorella, the Golden Knights lead the NHL in high-danger goals this postseason (32) and rank second in high-danger shots on goal (123). Vegas forwards Pavel Dorofeyev and Brett Howden each scored a high-danger goal in Game 1 against Colorado and are tied for the NHL lead in high-danger goals (six each) during the playoffs.

If Tortorella wins a second Stanley Cup for himself and the Vegas Golden Knights, some congratulations could be in order for GM Kelly McCrimmon to beat the odds again. 


Rob Gray-Imagn Images

 

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