Golden Knights Hire Ryan Craig As Head Coach

Before being named Henderson’s head coach, Craig was an assistant with the Golden Knights from 2017 up to 2023, where, behind Bruce Cassidy, he contributed to their first-ever Stanley Cup victory in that final season. Notably, before an eight-year NHL career, Craig played five seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, two as a captain under the Golden Knights’ current GM, Kelly McCrimmon, who was formerly an executive in Brandon.

It may seem a bit premature to put a first-time head coach in the driver’s seat of a team that has made three Stanley Cup Finals in nine seasons of its short time as a franchise, never finishing a season below .500, but it doesn’t come without reason either. Craig has been under three separate coaches with the Golden Knights, Gerard Gallant and Peter DeBoer, before Cassidy took the reins. Those names have seen many other prominent stints around the NHL. Obviously, this hire profiles as a step below what the Golden Knights usually prioritize in their coaches.

All things considered, Craig has worked and learned under those leaders and has been with Vegas in his entire tenure as an NHL staff member. There are, without a doubt, big shoes to fill here; however, familiarity with an abundance of Vegas’s players and their personalities should give Craig an advantage.

This comes after a team announcement where the Golden Knights said they would not retain John Tortorella as head coach and would be looking for their third bench boss of the calendar year. This came after he took the team to its third Stanley Cup Final, starting his tenure, replacing Cassidy with eight games remaining in the regular season, closing out with a 7-0-1 record, winning the Pacific Division, and three playoff series before their status as the league’s Stanley Cup runner-up.

Craig steps in as the first domino for the Vegas Golden Knights as they turn the page into 2026-27, looking to defend their Western Conference title. Vegas has just above $4.6MM in cap space where they have to address the futures of restricted free agent Pavel Dorofeyev, and UFAs like defensemen Rasmus Andersson, Jeremy Lauzon, Dylan Coghlan, and Ben Hutton. They also have Cole Smith, Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad, and Reilly Smith projected to head to market. The Golden Knights might have to shake things up with a trade to free up some much-needed money, perhaps by dealing a lengthy, cap-heavy contract.

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