Winslow Townson-Imagn ImagesThere are few people happier for John Tortorella getting the Vegas Golden Knights’ head coaching job than Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan and Tortorella have a strong relationship and friendship that dates back well over a decade.
From 2007-2012, Sullivan served under Tortorella as an assistant coach with the Tampa bay Lightning and New York Rangers.
Most recently, the roles were reversed with Tortorella serving as an assistant coach behind Sullivan for Team USA at both the 4 Nations Face-off and 2026 Winter Olympics.
On Sunday, the Golden Knights relieved Bruce Cassidy and replaced him with Tortorella to be the team’s head coach with just a few games to go before the playoffs officially begin.
Sullivan spoke about his relationship with Tortorella and reacted to the news of his friend’s new opportunity.
“I think he’s an excellent coach,” Sullivan said of Tortorella. “One of the things that he excels at is crisis management. He brings a ton of energy. I know he’ll bring a lot of energy to Vegas. I think, as I said, he’s an excellent coach. One of the things that has always impressed me with Torts, and obviously, I have a long-standing relationship with him. I worked with him for almost a decade. He was on our staff with the Olympic team, the 4 Nations team. In a lot of ways, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with him because I learned so much from him. We’re very different in how we go about it, but I’ve learned a lot from him as far as what it takes to win and how to instill an environment that’s conducive to winning.
“If you’re in coaching and you love what you do, you immerse yourself in a learning experience. And Torts has done that his whole career. He puts a lot of work into that. He prides himself in it. That’s been the most impressive thing for me in watching him. I think he’ll do what he does. I think he’ll do a terrific job.”