John Tortorella looked nothing like himself Sunday night. No fire, no sharp two-word answers, no talk of forcing a Game 7. Just a humbled coach.
The Golden Knights had just fallen in Game 6 to Carolina, ending one of the more improbable coaching runs the league has seen in years.
Asked about his future, Tortorella made no promises. His deal covered only this season, and he wanted time before thinking ahead. "I've got to swallow this a little bit," he said.
Here's the backstory that made it special. Vegas hired him on March 29 to replace Bruce Cassidy, with just eight games left and the team sliding toward a possible playoff miss.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon made the drastic call because he still believed in the group. By his own words, the expectations were too high to let the season drift.
The controversies that shadowed a magical run
The gamble looked like genius. Vegas went 7-0-1 to close the year and stole the Pacific Division by two points over Edmonton, 95 to 93.
Then the playoffs got wild. The Golden Knights took out Utah and Anaheim in six games each, then swept the Presidents' Trophy Avalanche, a 121-point juggernaut that had rolled into the matchup at 8-1.
That set up Carolina. Vegas grabbed a 2-1 series lead and looked ready for the fairy tale. The Hurricanes answered with three straight to lift the Cup.
It wasn't all clean, though. After the Ducks series, Tortorella skipped a media session, a choice that reportedly cost him a $100,000 fine and the Golden Knights a 2026 second-round pick.
The in-series decisions drew heat too. A failed Game 2 challenge handed Carolina a power play and a goal in a 4-3 overtime loss, the kind of swing that haunts a coach.
And he stuck with Carter Hart throughout. Hart, terrific in the regular season at .918, struggled badly in the Final, while 2023 hero Adin Hill watched from the bench.
To be fair, Hill was rusty after a long layoff, and Hart wasn't the problem in Game 6, when Carolina's Brandon Bussi stopped all 22 shots in a shutout.
In defeat, Tortorella was gracious, tipping his cap to Rod Brind'Amour and the Hurricanes as a good, well-coached team.
Here's my read: this was a remarkable ride that fell three wins short, a March hire who nearly authored a miracle. The fairy tale didn't get its ending.
Whether he returns is the open question. Tortorella wanted to coach, said as much, and clearly fell for this group. The sting just has to fade first.
Should the Golden Knights bring Tortorella back after this run?
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