The Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining in the 2025-26 season, replacing him with veteran coach John Tortorella.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon praised Cassidy's four-year tenure, noting he delivered the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2023, but cited current performance issues as the reason for the change.
Vegas enters the stretch run struggling, losing six of their last seven games including a 5-4 shootout defeat to Washington on Saturday. The team sits 32-26-16, in third place in the Pacific Division.
Tortorella returns to NHL coaching after serving as an assistant for gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. The veteran coach has a 770-648-37 record and won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.