The Vegas Golden Knights have found their new head coach by hiring Ryan Craig on Wednesday, June 17.
After falling in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Vegas Golden Knights began their search for a permanent coach. They previously fired former head coach Bruce Cassidy just eight games from the start of the NHL playoffs after the team experienced a serious slump that put them in jeopardy of missing the postseason entirely.
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Cassidy was replaced by John Tortorella, who logged a 7-0-1 record before heading into the postseason. While that momentum was enough to carry Vegas into the Stanley Cup Finals, it wasn’t enough to keep Tortorella around as the head coach.
Now we know it was because Vegas had their eyes set on someone else. The team announced Wednesday that Craig will become the fifth head coach in Vegas Golden Knights’ history. Here’s what to know.
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Who is Ryan Craig?
Vegas’ new head coach has been with the organization in various roles since 2017. From 2017 to 2023, he served as an assistant coach for the Golden Knights. He then became head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Hendersonville Silver Knights.
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Craig impressed as head coach of the Silver Knights, lifting the team’s win total in each of his three years at the helm — 28 in 2023-24, 29 in 2024-25, 39 in 2025-26. The Silver Knights also advanced to the second round of the AHL Playoffs this past season.
How old is Ryan Craig?
Craig is 44 years old.
Ryan Craig’s playing career
Drafted in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL draft by Tampa Bay, Craig played in parts of eight years in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets, totaling 198 games.
Craig also spent five seasons in the Western Hockey League, leading the Brandon Wheat Kings in scoring twice and serving as captain for two seasons between 1998 and 2003. In his final season with the team, he was named to the WHL East First All-Star Team.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vegas Golden Knights hire Ryan Craig as head coach after losing Stanley Cup Final
