John Tortorella’s time in Sin City is up.
The Vegas Golden Knights announced Tuesday that the veteran head coach who led them to the Stanley Cup Final will not return next season.
“We thank Torts for the guidance he provided our team since joining the organization in March,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a statement. “When the decision was made to bring Torts to Vegas, we needed an immediate impact to help us at a pivotal point in the season. Torts’ experience and leadership proved to be the boost that we were looking for, helping guide us to the Stanley Cup Final. We are grateful for Torts’ passion, sincerity, and commitment to our organization, and we wish him and his family the best.”
Tortorella, 67, was named head coach of the team on Mar. 29 after the surprise dismissal of Bruce Cassidy. He led the team to a 7-0-1 mark in the regular season before series wins over the Utah Mammoth, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche to win the Western Conference. The team fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
After the Game 6 loss on Sunday night, Tortorella seemed unsure about his future with the team.
“I feel very fortunate how this all came about, and just kind of in a weird way at the end of the year,” Tortorella said. “And then to get locked in with these guys, I just feel fortunate to get to know the team, get to know the organization, first-class organization, and just to have the opportunity.
“Like I said, I’ve wanted to coach, I want to coach. And to jump into this with this gang, I feel so fortunate.”
A native of Boston, Tortorella previously served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning over a 25-year head coaching career. He led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2004.
Tortorella’s 777 regular-season wins are ninth all-time among NHL head coaches.
