Every day right now is full of firsts for John Tortorella as he begins his tenure as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. First press briefing, first game, first win, and as of Wednesday, first practice.
Tortorella was hired by the Golden Knights on Sunday and arrived in Vegas late that night. He coached a game on Monday and used Tuesday as an opportunity to find his bearings.
“I saw a few guys in the morning. But in the afternoon, it was really the first time that I got to put my feet down. I felt more organized. I didn't leave here until early evening. But when I left, I felt organized,” said Tortorella. “Coaches, you just need all your ducks in a row. And it was such a crazy couple of days before that Monday game. I knew it was going to be that way and you deal with it. But Tuesday was really good for me. I felt better about knowing more people, understanding what the lineup looks like a little bit, and just getting myself prepared. I got to look at the schedule. I didn't even look ahead prior to the Monday game to see where maybe we practice, where we don't. I feel so much better today than I did when I came in on Sunday night.”
The 67-year-old Tortorella took to the ice at City National Arena on Wednesday morning and put his new club through an up-tempo skate.
As players came off the ice and into the dressing room the consistent theme among them was pace.
“A lot of pace, a lot of skating but I think it’s good for our group,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “There’s not a lot of time left here but we have to get our game back and get some pace into it. That starts in practice. I know this season has been weird and we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to practice, but I think this was a really good start towards us getting to how we want to play.”
The pace was intentional. Tortorella had the team moving and moving fast for most of the 45-minute practice.
“Pace, yeah. We wanted to move the blood hard. I don't want to practice two days in a row at this time of year. Talking to Kelly [McCrimmon], the schedule's been crazy, basically playing every other night,” said Tortorella. "So, I gave them yesterday off the ice. They just went up to the weight room just to move the blood a little bit. Got them out of here, no meetings. Today was a day we wanted to really push the pace. We'll have an optional tomorrow and play the game.”
Tortorella’s first game was a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks and next up is the Calgary Flames on Thursday. The coach has said most of his impact is expected to be around mindset. But there have already been some small tweaks to the team’s tactical approach.
“The biggest thing is, like I've talked about, is we want a pressure game. We want to pressure up the ice. We want to check forward. We also want to pressure in the defensive zone,” he said. “Some of the things, it'd be hard for me to talk about now, because you need a board and all that. But it turns into taking time and space away quicker. And I want it uniform in all three zones. So, we're thinking that way all the time. A couple of small little things. But like I said, the team is a pretty good team. And good leadership. I keep asking them, what do you think about this? They're part of it. They're part of the conversation. Can we do this? Is this too much? They've been very receptive, and they've helped me.”
The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023 and a lot of those players remain. Most coaches will tell you, if a team is going to win a championship, a lot of the accountability will need to come from the players themselves. Tortorella understands a lot of what he will need to do is allow this group to feel free to play and not be afraid to make mistakes.
“I think the team has been coached very well anyway, prior to me coming here. I think coaches, we get in the way. I think we overcoach. All coaches in the NHL do the same thing: we want to try to control a lot of things for the right reason, trying to make them the best they can be, trying to make the team the best they can be. But with today's athlete, sometimes less is better,” he said. “That's one of the biggest things as far as a coach's responsibility, know when it's too much. Know when to get out of the way and let them figure it out. I used to be that guy, dot every I, cross every T, I'd want to control the whole game through my meetings. And by the time they get on the ice, it's their thinking. It's a game of mistakes. Early on, I tried to correct every mistake. Now you pick and choose. I've always told my assistant coaches, and I live by it, sometimes you just have to turn away. It's a mistake. You know it's a mistake. But you don't have to coach it right then. Turn away and get onto something else. The athletes we have in our game are pretty smart players. They basically know what happened. I think we want to just get it off our chest, feel like you have to say something to them. That's something that has changed in my philosophy as far as coaching.”
