The Vegas Golden Knights promoted Ryan Craig from the AHL to become the fifth coach in franchise history.
The Vegas Golden Knights announced Ryan Craig as the fifth coach in franchise history and third coach in three months.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon announced Craig as the coach on Wednesday, one day after saying John Tortorella would not return. Tortorella had replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 30 and guided the squad to the Stanley Cup final.
McCrimmon told reporters on Wednesday that Tortorella wanted to coach the team again, but Vegas wanted to give the opportunity to Craig, who's been with the franchise for the past nine years.
Craig, 44, spent the past three seasons coaching Vegas' AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. This season, Henderson set franchise records with a 39-21-12 record and 90 points.
Before that, Craig was an assistant coach with Vegas and won the Stanley Cup in 2022-23.
Since Craig hadn't been a head coach for an NHL team before, McCrimmon said it would have been unfair to have him replace Cassidy in late March when the team was trying just to make the playoffs.
The former center played 198 career NHL games between 2005-06 and 2014-15, recording 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points. He suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets.
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