The Vegas Golden Knights wasted zero time filling the vacancy behind their bench. Just one day after announcing John Tortorella wouldn’t return, the team promoted from within on Wednesday, naming Ryan Craig as the fifth head coach in franchise history.
Craig, 41, has been with the organization since the very beginning. He retired as a player in June 2017 and immediately joined the Golden Knights as an assistant coach ahead of their expansion season. Over the next six seasons, he helped the club reach two Stanley Cup Finals and win it all in 2023. When Vegas needed an AHL head coach in 2023-24, Craig took over the Henderson Silver Knights and spent the last two seasons developing prospects in the minors.
A developmental track that paid off
While Henderson’s record during Craig’s first season—28-36-3-5—didn’t turn heads, the Silver Knights showed steady improvement. They jumped to 29 wins in 2024-25 and then posted a 39-21-7-5 mark this past season, their best since 2022. That earned them a Calder Cup playoff berth, where they eventually lost to the Colorado Eagles.
Craig’s ability to stabilize and elevate a young roster didn’t go unnoticed by Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who clearly saw the consistency as a sign of readiness for the NHL level.
Tortorella’s exit was swift
The coaching transition came fast. Vegas lost the Stanley Cup Final to Carolina on Sunday, and by Tuesday, the team announced Tortorella would not be back. The 66-year-old coach had taken over for Bruce Cassidy and guided the Golden Knights to the Cup Final in his first season, but management opted for a different direction.
Craig now inherits a team with a recent track record of deep playoff runs. Of the four previous coaches in franchise history, three reached the Stanley Cup Final: Gerard Gallant in 2018, Cassidy in 2023, and Tortorella this year. Cassidy is the only one to win it. The bar is high, and the expectation in Las Vegas is that Craig will keep the Golden Knights among the league’s elite.
Why this hire makes sense
Craig knows the organization inside out. He spent six seasons as an assistant under Gallant, Peter DeBoer, Cassidy, and Tortorella, absorbing different systems and philosophies. His familiarity with the current roster—many of whom he scouted or coached the same players in Henderson—could make for a smoother transition than an outside hire would have allowed.
“Ryan has been a key part of our organization’s success from the start,” a team spokesperson said in the official announcement. The Golden Knights are betting that his patience on the bench will pay off with a seamless handoff.
For a franchise that has never gone more than two seasons without a Cup Final appearance, the pressure is on. But Craig has already proven he can develop talent and adapt. Now he gets to prove he can win at the highest level.
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