Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Craig has been named the newest head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, replacing the first NHL head coach he ever played under, John Tortorella.
Craig was originally drafted by the Lightning in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL Draft. After a couple of seasons split between the American Hockey League and the ECHL, he finally got his opportunity to play in the NHL during the 2005-06 season. He would remain with the Lightning organization, playing a number of games split between the NHL and AHL until the 2010-11 season when he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins. He'd then go on to conclude his playing career with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Immediately after retiring, Craig joined the Golden Knights as an assistant coach for the 2017-18 season and remained in that role until they made him the head coach of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights ahead of the 2023-24 season. After three seasons in that post, he has finally been given the keys to the kingdom and has been named the head coach of the Golden Knights.