On Tuesday, the Vegas Golden Knights added an experienced voice to their coaching staff, hiring former NHL forward Mark Letestu as an assistant coach. Letestu joins head coach Ryan Craig‘s staff for the 2026-27 season, with the remainder of the Golden Knights coaching group set to return as well.
Letestu brings both playing pedigree and a steadily building coaching resume to Vegas. The former forward spent 11 seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, appearing in 567 regular season games and producing 210 points on 93 goals and 117 assists.
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His NHL career painted a picture of a reliable two-way centre who carved out a long professional career through intelligence, faceoff ability and a willingness to embrace whatever role his team needed.
His final NHL stint came with the Jets, where he appeared in seven games during the 2019-20 season before transitioning out of playing and into coaching. The move to the bench suited him well. Letestu spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, helping build a winning culture in the organization.
The Monsters qualified for the postseason in each of the final two seasons of his tenure, capturing the North Division title during the 2023-24 campaign and advancing to the Eastern Conference Final that same year.
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From there, Letestu took his biggest step yet in coaching, becoming head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles ahead of last season. He wasted little time making an impact, guiding Colorado to a 41-20-11 record and a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs, with the Eagles advancing all the way to the Western Conference Final in his first and only season behind the bench.
The strong showing made Letestu one of the more attractive coaching candidates available this summer and clearly caught the attention of the Golden Knights front office.
The connection to Craig also likely played a role in the hire as the two shared the ice together in Columbus during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. For Vegas, the addition of Letestu rounds out a coaching staff built around Craig, who is entering his first season leading the Golden Knights after the team fell short in the Stanley Cup finals under interim hire John Tortorella.
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