Tortorella unsure of future with Golden Knights after Stanley Cup Final loss

LAS VEGAS — This was a different John Tortorella sitting at the postgame podium Sunday than the world had seen throughout these Stanley Cup Playoffs .

There were no vows of extending the 2026 Final to a Game 7. No claims that he was being asked stupid questions. No two word answers. No attitude.

Only humility and respect, both for his Vegas Golden Knights and for the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, who had just defeated his team 3-0 in Game 6.

The 67-year-old, brought in to replace the fired Bruce Cassidy on March 29, would not commit to whether he’d be back next season, saying, “I haven’t even … I’ve got to swallow this a little bit.”

What he did express was the admiration of having the chance to be around a veteran team that, he said repeatedly in the past month, taught him as much as he did them. He thanked owner Bill Foley, team president George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon for giving him the opportunity to enjoy a Cinderella ride that unfortunately struck midnight two wins short of the ultimate goal.

“I feel very fortunate how this all came about, and just kind of in a weird way at the end of the year,” Tortorella said. “And then to get locked in with these guys, I just feel fortunate to get to know the team, get to know the organization, first-class organization, and just to have the opportunity.

“Like I said, I’ve wanted to coach, I want to coach. And to jump into this with this gang, I feel so fortunate.”

While it seems reading between the lines that the desire is there, nothing is ever etched in stone when it comes to Tortorella. Whether there is enough hunger to want to come back, not to mention if management wants him back, remains to be determined.

There are compelling arguments for both bringing him back and, on the other hand, moving in a different direction, specifically in favor of Ryan Craig, the coach of the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson.

On the plus side, Tortorella took over a team that was in danger of missing the playoffs and led them to a 7-0-1 run, good enough to win the Pacific Division by two points over the Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights then went on a 12-4 postseason run with series victories over the Utah Mammoth, Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche, all the while never losing back-to-back games under his guidance.

Then came the Final against the Hurricanes. And all that changed. 

In the end, Vegas lost three consecutive times after going up 2-1 in the series to lose the best-of-7 matchup in six games.

In the process, there was plenty of fodder for the critics to pick at.

After eliminating the Ducks in Game 6, Tortorella refused to make himself available to the media despite the fact that the Golden Knights had just eliminated Anaheim. The NHL subsequently find Tortorella $100,000 and stripped Vegas of a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for unacceptable media practices.

In Game 2 of the Final, a 4-3 overtime loss, his failed coach’s challenge late in the contest resulted in a Vegas penalty and led to a key Carolina goal on the ensuing Hurricanes power play. 

The there was his insistence to stick with goalie Carter Hart despite some shaky play throughout the series. The 27-year-old set a dubious NHL record by becoming the first goalie in Final history to allow at least four goals in the first five games of the series and ended the matchup against the Hurricanes with a 3.45 goals-against average and a moribund .863 save percentage in six contests.

Sitting in the wings all the while was Adin Hill, who went 11-4 with a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage during the 2023 postseason en route to helping the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup. On the other hand, the 30-year-old had not played since a 4-3 shootout loss against the Seattle Kraken on April 9, more than two months ago.

To be fair, goaltending was not the issue in the Game 6 loss. At least not in terms of Hart.

On the other hand, Carolina’s Brandon Bussi certainly was, making 22 saves for the championship-clinching shutout. It was a performance, both individual and team-wise, Tortorella was quick to praise.

“It’s a good hockey team,” he said of the Hurricanes. “It’s a well-coached team. It’s a team that their goalie gave a real good opportunity in the second part of the series to win a Stanley Cup.

“I’m not going to take anything away from Carolina. That’s a good club and I have tremendous respect for coach (Rod Brind’Amour) and his staff. We put in some good minutes in too, and just couldn’t find a way. They did.”

In the somber Vegas dressing room, glassy-eyed players fought back tears of disappointment. At the same time, they professed hope that Tortorella would stay around for another run.

“I mean, he was awesome coming in,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I felt like he really brought a change going into the postseason. 

“It’s been great.”

Defenseman Noah Hanifin echoed those sentiments.

“He was incredible,” Hanifin said. “Obviously, coming into this situation, eight games left, it was pretty unique. But he pushed the right buttons and believed in our group, had a lot of trust in our group, and really helped propel us to give us a chance to play at this point of year.”

Still, there was no denying the job had not been finished. 

That was evident on the wall of the dressing room where a cut-out Stanley Cup on the wall had holders for 16 pucks to be placed in — one for every victory it would take to win hockey’s most coveted prize.

In the end, there were only 14 pucks there — two shy of the ultimate goal.

For captain Mark Stone, that fact just made the pain in his gut hurt even more. They’d come so close, just not close enough.

“I’m not so sure people thought we’d still be competing this time of year,” Stone said, welling up. “Our team is one everyone loves to hate, so that fuels our fire. And it’s going to fuel our fire moving forward.”

But the question remains, with or without the always controversial Tortorella?

After the Golden Knights lost Game 5 to the Hurricanes 4-2 in Raleigh, Tortorella proclaimed his team would force a Game 7. So much so, he said, that he was leaving his clothes behind at the team hotel.

That didn’t happen. 

So what, now, will happen to Tortorella’s laundry, which allegedly is sitting idle three time zones to the east?

Or, for that matter, him, when it comes to his future with the Golden Knights?

Whatever transpires, this much is certain: It won’t be boring.

With John Tortorella, it never is.