Head coach John Tortorella stepped in with a handful of games to go in the regular season and proceeded to take the Vegas Golden Knights all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, before falling in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
But virtually the minute the Finals came to a close, it's been revealed, the Golden Knights told Torts, essentially, 'Thanks, it's been nice,' and sent him on his way, telling him that they would be installing Ryan Craig behind the bench for next season.
But that exciting run to within two games of a Cup win has clearly reignited that fire & desire, if it ever left at all, for Tortorella to continue coaching. He says he's not done, in his first public interview since the end of the season. “Oh, I want to coach,” Tortorella told The Athletic. “I want to coach now. I’m not sure if that happens, and that’s where I am in my career. But I wanted to coach that Vegas team (going forward). I told (GM Kelly McCrimmon) that.
"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.
“They’ve been developing (Craig) for a number of years there. He’s a good coach and a good man.”
So it's on to a new destination, if there's a team that will have him. All 32 teams are set now with their head coaches for the new season, but Adam Proteau of The Hockey News has suggested a handful of potential landing spots for Torts depending on how things go early in the season. Here, we look at the top three:
The Stars continue to be a Cup-or-bust team, in it to win it. They've had a string of very successful regular seasons, but have continually come up short in the playoffs. "If (current head coach Glen) Gulutzan steers this team into a ditch, you could see (GM Jim) Nill reaching out to Tortorella, knowing he’d be coming in on a short-term basis," Proteau wrote.
Chris MacFarland was brought in this offseason in a blockbuster front office move to be the new GM and president of hockey operations, and just like all new hockey bosses, they like to have their own selections in place to execute their plan. Incumbent coaches often don't last long. Current bench boss Andrew Brunette might not be long for the job if the Preds get off to yet another ugly start.
Sheldon Keefe's seat began to heat up after a disappointing season in Jersey. The Devils were supposed to be a playoff team, but finished 7th in the Metropolitan Division, a full 12 points out of a Wild Card spot.
"New Jersey’s goaltending tandem has changed, and possibly not for the better," notes Proteau. "That could have a direct impact on Keefe’s job security with the Devils. New Jersey’s relatively young core might need a shake-up, and that’s what Tortorella might provide."
