How has John Tortorella impacted the Golden Knights?
The Vegas Golden Knights have never been shy to make a bold move, and it appears their latest one has delivered the desired result. With just eight games left in their regular season, the Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella as his replacement, despite them being in a playoff spot in the Pacific Division at the time.
The coaching change immediately paid off, as Vegas went 7-0-1 under Tortorella down the stretch, and after completing a four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 win on Tuesday, are now back in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four years. It’s impossible to say whether the Golden Knights would’ve had the same success under Cassidy, who coached them to a Stanley Cup championship in 2023, but they’ve certainly found another gear with Tortorella at the helm.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton were joined by Steve Peters to discuss how Tortorella has provided a boost for Vegas.
Carter Hutton: They just seem to improve and improve as they’ve gone. Do you think that is because Torts is there, or there’s the fact that Colorado ran out of steam, or they just didn’t make adjustments in your eyes, Petey?
Steve Peters: I think it’s a little bit of everything, and I think you can’t deny the Tortorella factor. I know he didn’t change systems, so he changed attitude. He changed the top players and the way they’re playing, and it really reflects that. You’ve been involved with Cassidy before, it’s hard. It’s hard every single day, and it wears on you, and the star players don’t like to hear how bad things are all the time. You bring somebody in that’s positive, and I know he may not be positive with the media, but Tortorella is positive inside the room, and it has shown with what he’s been able to do.
I think what has happened to Vegas is the accountability of their veterans. It’s the guy sitting next to you that you don’t want to disappoint. When you get that, when you are trying to do things for the guy sitting next to you, and the guy in the room across the hall from you, that is where you have success. When you go “I don’t want to let (Jack) Eichel and (Mitch) Marner down, I’m going to block this shot,” or “I don’t want to let (Mark) Stone down, I’m going to make this good play.” I think that’s what is happening to Vegas.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Wednesday’s episode here…