In a league where only the strong survive, the Vegas Golden Knights have earned the reputation of being a team willing to become stronger by any means necessary. They aren’t shy about adding to their team, whether by means of signing a prize free agent like Alex Pietrangelo or taking a swing at a top trade target as they did with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.
“We have made a lot of big decisions over our time in the league, and very bold,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon acknowledged during his Stanley Cup Final media availability. “I always say, to be big or bold is one thing, but you’ve got to make good decisions. And I think that we’ve collectively, through our hockey ops, done a good job of that.”
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This year, the Golden Knights’ bold decisions reached a new peak when they relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties as head coach with just eight games remaining in the regular season. Kelly McCrimmon brought in John Tortorella to fill that void– a man he’d never even spoken to prior to the coaching change.
The gamble clearly paid off, as the Golden Knights went 7-0-1 down the stretch in the regular season to win their fifth Division Title in nine years. In the postseason, they beat the Utah Mammoth, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in just 16 games.
But despite the optics, Tortorella claims that he had very little to do with the team’s success. He’s repeatedly referred to himself as a ‘guidance counselor,’ stating that he does little more than nudge the team back onto the path when they’ve lost their way.
“This team knows how to play,” he said during his media availability on Monday. “It’s them. It’s not me or the coaching staff; it’s them.
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“They handle themselves so well,” continued Tortorella. “That room self-sustains. That’s why they’re in the finals again this year, and that’s why they won it in 23, and that’s why they’ve been so successful. It’s not coaches being in there. It’s a room self-sustaining, and we’ve got good people doing that.”
Kelly McCrimmon seems to feel differently.
“He’s being really modest,” McCrimmon refuted. “He’s been a really successful coach in the NHL for a long time… I think he’s done a great job of coming in, reading the room, knowing what the team needs, and coaching from that perspective.”
