The Vegas Golden Knights felt a coaching change was needed after their 5-4 loss to Washington Capitals shooter and former goaltender Logan Thompson on Saturday night. Vegas fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy, replacing him with John Tortorella for the rest of the season.
GM Kelly McCrimmon wants to find the same spark that Rick Bowness had in Columbus when Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell replaced Bowness with Dean Evason. However, the decision to leave Cassidy did not happen overnight.
“So Tortorella was still under contract in Philadelphia, and they had to ask for permission to talk to him. I think that happened recently, Martine,” Friedman told Sportsnet. “Nobody can give me an exact time yet, but it just happened.”
NHL news: Vegas Golden Knights fire Bruce Cassidy and hire John Tortorella
Not to mention this was the decision of the entire season. Their performance on the ice did not reveal who the Vegas Golden Knights were. They have values. That level wins, and the expectations are Stanley Cup or bust. But for the first time in franchise history, they will have more losses than wins as they battle for a playoff spot in the weak Pacific Division.
When McCrimmon met with the media on Monday he said that Cassidy did not lose the room, his team lost spirit and energy. But something is wrong with the Golden Knights this season. Whether it was the goaltending or the defense or the rest of the team changing, Vegas wasn’t playing up to its standard, so McCrimmon felt a change was needed.
But as Friedman said on Sportsnet on Sunday evening, this was a tough move for the existing club to overcome.
NHLRumors.com registration
Martine Gaillard: “In addition to this wonderful news, we are joined by Elliotte Friedman.
Friedman: “I’ll answer the second one first, Martine, the desperation move. There’s no question about it. I think it just shows how much pressure there is on the Vegas Golden Knights to win this year, and how they can’t let this happen, and they don’t want this season to go south. But, ’twill say, all I’m going to say is this, I didn’t see Tortore.
I felt that Cassidy was in trouble. It’s just that we’ve all been rooting for Peter DeBoer, the guy who could replace him, but it wouldn’t be in Vegas, because he’s trained there, right?
So I didn’t see Tortorella coming. I thought Cassidy was in trouble, but I missed, I think, an obvious fan. The thing that means more than anything is the desire in Vegas to win, and they are not giving up on the season. They need it.”
Again, if a team has three goals, they don’t have them. It’s like quarterbacks in the NFL; if you keep changing from week to week, you might not have a boyfriend. Vegas didn’t have that guy in Adin Hill, Carter Hart, or Akira Schmid. That kind of goalkeeper will do for any coach. But defensively, he wasn’t that good. The team is a step slower and more dynamic than in previous years.
Evgeni Malkin is Expected to Return Next Season
So expectations come with consequences. The Vegas Golden Knights aren’t afraid to step up to the plate. It is clear from their history that they are not afraid to do it. But it’s a tough move for the team to start playing better, with the season and playoffs remaining.
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumors and hot topics from around the league. We also post some stuff on Instagram.
If you like our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a favorite source on Google.
