Ryan Craig Named Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach After Tortorella's Stanley Cup Final Run

Ryan Craig has been named the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, replacing John Tortorella in the position. Craig, 44, was formally introduced at a news conference on Thursday following his appointment on Wednesday. The hiring marks a significant departure for the Golden Knights, as Craig is the first head coach to be promoted from within the organization's system rather than hired from outside with prior NHL head coaching success.

Craig's path to the role began during his playing career in the early 2010s with Pittsburgh's organization, when he began documenting how he might approach coaching situations. He became an assistant coach with the Golden Knights in 2017 when the franchise was preparing for its inaugural NHL season and remained in various coaching capacities as the team cycled through head coaches. General Manager Kelly McCrimmon, who has known Craig for nearly 30 years since Craig was 15 years old playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings, recognized his leadership potential early on. McCrimmon served as owner and GM of the junior team at that time.

Craig gained valuable head coaching experience at the AHL level following the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup championship. He led the Henderson Silver Knights, a six-year-old franchise, to a 39-21-12 record with 90 points this season—a franchise record—and guided them to the second round of the playoffs. This experience proved crucial for Craig to understand the responsibilities of managing team culture and messaging. "As a head guy, you go to bed every night thinking about what the message is and you wake up thinking about the message," Craig said, emphasizing that the head coach must "control the temperature of the room" and maintain a big-picture perspective.

Craig replaces Tortorella, who was hired mid-season with eight games remaining and led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to Carolina in six games. The transition gives Craig a notable advantage over his predecessors: intimate familiarity with the organization and many of its current players, including team captain Mark Stone. Despite this advantage, Craig recognizes there is no true honeymoon period in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights have made the postseason in eight of their nine seasons and maintain championship expectations, currently listed at 10-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup next season—behind only Colorado (7-1) and Carolina (7½-1).

"I'm ready for this opportunity," Craig said. "I'm grateful for it. I'm ready to get to work." McCrimmon praised Craig's methodical progression through coaching ranks, saying, "I've said to him many times, 'Craig, you're going to be a really good NHL head coach if you're not in a hurry. You need to do it in the proper steps.' He's done exactly that." The organization's commitment to hiring what McCrimmon calls "the best available coach" remains consistent with the team's philosophy of selecting top talent across all positions since its founding.