June 7, 2004 was a monumental day in Tampa Bay Lightning history, when John Tortorella stood on the ice and hoisted the Stanley Cup. Tortorella had just watched his team beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to capture the franchise’s first championship.
More than two decades later, Tortorella was set to return to Tampa next week for his induction into the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame. Last year's inductees included Lightning head coach Jon Cooper and radio play-by-play, Dave Mishkin. Instead, Tortorella will be heading to the Stanley Cup Final as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
On March 29, Tortorella was named as the replacement for the fired Bruce Cassidy. Vegas completed a shocking four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday, with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. This will be his first time coaching in the Stanley Cup Final since that night in Tampa.
“I consider the first three rounds to be playoffs,” he said. “The last round, that’s when you play for the Stanley Cup. We have an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup now. Proud of the guys.”
After being let go by the Lightning following the 2007-08 season, Tortorella had stops with the New York Rangers (2009-13), Vancouver Canucks (2013-14), Columbus Blue Jackets (2015-21) and Philadelphia Flyers (2022-25). He’s led those teams to eight playoff appearances, but never took any of them to the Final.
Tortorella, who rarely shares emotion, cracked a smile at the end of Game 4.
“You’re always thinking about it, right?” he said of the Stanley Cup. “That’s all we talk about as players and coaches. That’s why we stay in the business, is to get that opportunity to compete and go through it.”