John Tortorella, 68, Eager to Coach Again After Brief Vegas Stint

At 68 years old, John Tortorella remains passionate about coaching, even after a brief tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights ended just shy of a Stanley Cup. In an interview with The Athletic, Tortorella expressed his eagerness 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 stepped in as head coach of the Golden Knights with only eight games left in the regular season, taking over from the fired Bruce Cassidy. His stint culminated in mid-June when the Golden Knights fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games during the Stanley Cup Final. Despite his desire to stay, Tortorella acknowledged McCrimmon’s decision to promote minor-league coach Ryan Craig, saying, “They’ve been developing (Craig) for a number of years there. He’s a good coach and a good man.”

With 24 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience, Tortorella’s tenure with the Golden Knights was his seventh stop in the league. He is well-known for his lengthy time with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2000-01 to 2007-08, where he secured his only Stanley Cup in 2004. His coaching journey also includes stints with the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vancouver Canucks.

Hailing from Boston, Tortorella ranks sixth in NHL history for games coached, amassing 1,628 games, and leads among U.S.-born coaches. His impressive 777 career wins place him second among American coaches, trailing only Peter Laviolette’s 846 victories. In playoff performance, Tortorella holds a 70-72 record, good for 20th on the NHL’s all-time wins list.

Reflecting on his recent season, Tortorella expressed disappointment at falling short of winning a second Stanley Cup, saying, “I guess the word I’d use is disappointed. 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.