The Vegas Golden Knights felt a training 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 rest of this season.
GM Kelly McCrimmon is looking to seek out a spark just like what Rick Bowness was getting in Columbus when Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell replaced Dean Evason with Bowness. Nevertheless, a choice to maneuver on from Cassidy doesn’t occur overnight.
“So Tortorella was still under contract in Philadelphia, they usually needed to ask for permission to talk to him. I believe that happened pretty recently, Martine,” Friedman said on Sportsnet. “No person at this time limit would give me the precise time of when it happened, however it was pretty recent.”
NHL News: Vegas Golden Knights Fire Bruce Cassidy and Hire John Tortorella
Not to say this was a season-long decision. Their play on the ice didn’t reflect who the Vegas Golden Knights were. They’ve standards. That standard is winning, and expectations are Stanley Cup or bust. But for the primary time in franchise history, they may 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 entire dynamic of the team, Vegas was not playing as much as their standard, so McCrimmon felt a change was needed.
But as Friedman identified on Sportsnet on Sunday evening, this was a desperate move for a club that’s in it to win it.
NHLRumors.com Transcription
Martine Gaillard: “With more on this surprising news, we’re joined by Elliotte Friedman. Friedge, I assume I even have to begin together with your response. First off, whenever you heard the news, and in addition, why make this variation now?
Friedman: “I’ll answer the second first, Martine, a desperation move. There’s no doubt about it. I believe it just shows how much pressure there may be on the Vegas Golden Knights to win this yr, and the way that they will’t let this occur, they usually won’t don’t want this season to go south. But, ‘ll say, all I’ll say is that this, I didn’t see Tortorella coming.
I got the sense Cassidy was in trouble. It’s just that we’ve all been form of fixating on Peter DeBoer, the guy who might are available in as a alternative, however it wouldn’t be in Vegas, because he’s already coached there, right?
So I just didn’t see Tortorella coming. I assumed Cassidy was in trouble, but I missed, I assume, the plain successor. The thing it says most of all is the desperation in Vegas to win, they usually’re not throwing away the season. They need it.”
Again, when a team has three goaltenders, they’ve none. It’s like quarterbacks within the NFL; if you happen to keep rotating week to week, you would possibly not have the guy. Vegas didn’t have that guy in Adin Hill, Carter Hart, or Akira Schmid. That kind of goaltending will do in any coach. But defensively, they weren’t pretty much 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 usually not afraid to maneuver on from coaches. It is obvious from their history that they are usually not afraid to do it. But it surely is a desperate move for the team to begin playing higher, with the season and playoffs within the balance.
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