Tortorella leaves door open for return to Vegas

Kristen ShiltonJun 15, 2026, 01:36 AM ET

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Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights were still digesting their 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday when coach John Tortorella was asked what's next for him with the club -- and whether he'd be back behind the bench after a brief stint with the team that ended in utter disappointment.

"I haven't even [considered it]," Tortorella said. "I have to swallow [this loss] first."

That was a different message than what Tortorella had conveyed just last week in an interview with Sportsnet. At that time, Tortorella -- who was brought in to replace the fired Bruce Cassidy on March 29 and guide Vegas through its final eight regular-season games and into the playoffs -- said, "end of June, I'm done, as far as with Vegas." That seemed to reflect the arrangement Tortorella had with Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon in stepping in for Cassidy in the latter stages of the Golden Knights' regular season; he was a short-term solution to take the team through what they hoped would be a Cup-winning spring.

Vegas ultimately fell short of that goal, but Tortorella didn't immediately double-down on being done in the desert. McCrimmon had felt the Golden Knights had "lost their spirit" under Cassidy and tapped Tortorella to bring it back. Vegas responded by going 7-1 to finish the regular season and then advanced deep into the playoffs. Coming up short -- on home ice, no less -- was a difficult reality to face.

"Wild year, crazy year," Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. "We came together as a group late in the year. Torts came in late in the year and did a great job. This is going to sting; it's going to haunt us. But we are proud of how we got here and how we played. Unfortunately, it just wasn't good enough."

There was no guarantee the Golden Knights would be in position to see a Cup Final again given the ups and downs of their season. Vegas went 1-5-2 following the league's Olympic break in February, and when Tortorella was brought on, the Golden Knights had fallen to third place in the Pacific Division with their playoff aspirations seemingly slipping away. It took more than Tortorella to turn things around, but he was an undeniable catalyst for change.

"When I look at everything that happened this season, to give ourselves a chance, is pretty special," captain Mark Stone said. "But it doesn't make things better right now. This feeling sucks. I never want to have it again."

Several players hinted that injuries ultimately took a toll on Vegas. The Golden Knights had to play Game 6 without top center William Karlsson -- who suffered an apparent arm/wrist injury in Game 5 on Thursday -- but there were others suiting up at less than 100% as well. And they were at a disadvantage early Sunday.

The Golden Knights fell behind when Taylor Hall picked up a loose puck and buried it behind Carter Hart less than four minutes into the opening frame. It was a nightmare start for Vegas, trying to forge a comeback against a Carolina team that was 3-0 in elimination games throughout this postseason.

Tortorella tapped Reilly Smith -- a healthy scratch since May 1 in Game 6 of the Golden Knights' first-round playoff series against Utah -- to replace Karlsson. The Golden Knights coach also made a surprising call to insert Braeden Bowman on the fourth line over Keegan Kolesar, despite Bowman having not played an NHL game since March 21, prior to when Tortorella became Vegas' coach.

One alteration Tortorella wasn't willing to make was in net. While the Hurricanes went from Frederik Andersen to Brandon Bussi as their starter when Andersen suffered a knee ailment earlier in the series, Tortorella staunchly stood with Hart over Adin Hill. And Hart did what he could in Game 6, recording a .909 SV% while the Golden Knights struggled to generate any offense. But he couldn't match Bussi's perfection in Sunday's matchup.

"I thought their goaltender was really good tonight," Tortorella said. "Since he came in, he's been really good. We put some good minutes in too. It's a find a way league and they found a way and we didn't."

The shakeups Tortorella tried to make didn't help the Golden Knights' cause as they failed to maintain any momentum offensively and couldn't capitalize on their chances. Vegas earned the game's first power play midway through the first period when Jackson Blake was tagged for tripping, but Tomas Hertl's ensuing faceoff violation swiftly negated the man advantage.

Bussi did make some key stops on Vegas' attacking bursts, but there wasn't much for the Golden Knights to sustain against the Hurricanes' relentless pressure. Vegas was clearly worn down by the second period, going over 20 minutes through that frame and into the third with just two shots on net and five attempts. That gave Vegas a whopping five shots on goal from the first period to late into the third period.

Meanwhile, Carolina added to its lead when, following a failed clearing attempt by the Golden Knights, Jackson Blake took a pass in the slot from Logan Stankoven and beat Hart to give Carolina a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes.

Jack Eichel had a brilliant chance to get Vegas on the board on a third period power play try when Bussi was down without a stick but Eichel's shot ran off the crossbar and out. That just left Nik Ehlers to ice the Hurricanes victory with an empty net score.

What's next for Tortorella remains to be seen. But it doesn't sound like he's entirely done with Vegas.

"I feel very fortunate how this all came about just in a weird way at the end of the year," Tortorella said. "And then to get locked in with these guys, I feel very fortunate to get to know the team and just have the opportunity. I wanted to coach and just in with this group, I feel so fortunate."