John Tortorella, 68, Eager for Coaching Return After Vegas Stint

At 68 years old, John Tortorella remains passionate about coaching, despite his recent tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights coming to an end just two wins shy of a Stanley Cup. In an interview with The Athletic, Tortorella expressed his desire to return to the bench, stating, “Oh, I want to coach. 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. I told (general manager Kelly McCrimmon) that.”

Tortorella took over the Golden Knights late in the regular season, replacing Bruce Cassidy with only eight games remaining. His time in Vegas concluded in mid-June when the team fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final, a series that ended in six games. While Tortorella had hoped for his return, he respected McCrimmon’s decision to promote Ryan Craig, a minor-league coach. “They’ve been developing (Craig) for a number of years there,” Tortorella remarked. “He’s a good coach and a good man.”

With 24 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience under his belt, Tortorella’s stint with the Golden Knights marked his seventh coaching position, which includes two separate tenures with the New York Rangers. His longest tenure was with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2000-01 to 2007-08, where he captured his only Stanley Cup in 2004. He has also coached in Columbus, Philadelphia, and Vancouver.

Currently, Tortorella ranks sixth on the NHL’s all-time list for games coached with 1,628, and he holds the top spot among U.S.-born coaches. His 777 career wins place him second among American coaches, trailing only Peter Laviolette’s 846. Tortorella’s playoff record stands at 70-72, which places him 20th in NHL history for playoff victories.

Reflecting on his time with the Golden Knights, Tortorella expressed disappointment in not securing a second championship. “I guess the word I’d use is disappointed,” he said, adding, “We didn’t finish the job, and I wanted some more time with that club to try to finish the job. That’s not my call. That’s the general manager and president’s call. You just get about your business after that.”

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.