Bruce Cassidy was fired as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday and replaced by John Tortorella.
The Golden Knights (32-26-16) are third in the Pacific Division and 3-5-2 in their past 10 games.
"We thank Bruce Cassidy for his dedication to our hockey club and community over the past four seasons," Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "Under Bruce's leadership, we reached our ultimate goal in 2023 by bringing a Stanley Cup to Vegas. Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was accomplished here. With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club.
"With John Tortorella, we bring in a Stanley Cup champion as well as one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NHL. His guidance will be a great asset to our team at the pivotal point in the season we currently face. We look forward to welcoming John to Vegas."
Cassidy’s last game was a 5-4 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, Vegas’ sixth loss in its past seven games.
He went 178-99-43 in four seasons with the Golden Knights, winning the Stanley Cup in his first season in 2022-23. In 12 NHL seasons, Cassidy is 470-254-96 with nine ties with the Capitals, Boston Bruins and Golden Knights. He is 62-57 in 119 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Tortorella is 770-648-165 with 37 ties in 23 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. He is 56-64 in 120 playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2003-04.
The 67-year-old last coached in the NHL in 2024-25 with the Flyers. He was an assistant for the U.S. men’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the Olympics in Milan last month with two Vegas players: center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin.
Cassidy is the third coach to be fired in the NHL this season. Rick Bowness was hired by the Blue Jackets to replace Dean Evason on Jan. 12, and D.J. Smith took over the Los Angeles Kings after Jim Hiller was fired March 1.
