The Vegas Golden Knights felt a coaching change was needed after their 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals and former goaltender Logan Thompson on Saturday night. Vegas fired Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy, replacing him with John Tortorella for just the remainder of this season.
GM Kelly McCrimmon is looking to find a spark similar to what Rick Bowness was getting in Columbus when Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell replaced Dean Evason with Bowness. However, a decision to move on from Cassidy does not happen overnight.
“So Tortorella was still under contract in Philadelphia, and they had to ask for permission to speak to him. I think that happened pretty recently, Martine,” Friedman said on Sportsnet. “Nobody at this point in time would give me the exact time of when it happened, but it was pretty recent.”
NHL News: Vegas Golden Knights Fire Bruce Cassidy and Hire John Tortorella
Not to mention this was a season-long decision. Their play on the ice did not reflect who the Vegas Golden Knights were. They have standards. That standard is winning, and expectations are Stanley Cup or bust. But for the first time in franchise history, they will have more losses than wins as they battle for a playoff spot in a weak Pacific Division.
While McCrimmon met with the media on Monday and said Cassidy didn’t lose the room, his team lost their spirit and energy. But something was off with the Golden Knights this season. Whether it was goaltending or defense or the whole dynamic of the team, Vegas was not playing up to their standard, so McCrimmon felt a change was needed.
But as Friedman pointed out on Sportsnet on Sunday evening, this was a desperate move for a club that is in it to win it.
NHLRumors.com Transcription
Martine Gaillard: “With more on this surprising news, we are joined by Elliotte Friedman. Friedge, I guess I have to start with your reaction. First off, when you heard the news, and also, why make this change now?
Friedman: “I’ll answer the second one first, Martine, a desperation move. There’s no question about it. I think it just shows how much pressure there is on the Vegas Golden Knights to win this year, and how that they can’t let this happen, and they won’t don’t want this season to go south. But, ‘ll say, all I’ll say is this, I didn’t see Tortorella coming.
I got the sense Cassidy was in trouble. It’s just that we’ve all been kind of fixating on Peter DeBoer, the guy who might come in as a replacement, but it wouldn’t be in Vegas, because he’s already coached there, right?
So I just didn’t see Tortorella coming. I thought Cassidy was in trouble, but I missed, I guess, the obvious successor. The thing it says most of all is the desperation in Vegas to win, and they’re not throwing away the season. They need it.”
Again, when a team has three goaltenders, they have none. It is like quarterbacks in the NFL; if you keep rotating week to week, you might not have the guy. Vegas didn’t have that guy in Adin Hill, Carter Hart, or Akira Schmid. That type of goaltending will do in any coach. But defensively, they were not as good. The team is a step slower and more dynamic up front than in years past.
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So with expectations come results. The Vegas Golden Knights are not afraid to move on from coaches. It is clear from their history that they are not afraid to do it. But it is a desperate move for the team to start playing better, with the season and playoffs in the balance.
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