Ex-Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella hired by Vegas Golden Knights after firing Bruce Cassidy

Bruce Cassidy is out as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired him Sunday in an abrupt late-season change and replaced him with former Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella. Cassidy led the Golden Knights to the Cup in 2023 and got fired less than three years later.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the move a day after the team lost three in a row and six of its past seven games. Vegas is in third place in the Pacific Division and on track to make the playoffs despite the recent skid.

Tortorella joins the organization for his 24th NHL season as a head coach. He was not in the league this year and was an assistant for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics when it won gold. He coached Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Tortorella was fired with nine games left in the 2024-25 season last March in his third year as Philadelphia's head coach. He joined the Flyers in 2022 under previous general manager Chuck Fletcher.  

The Flyers replaced Tortorella with Rick Tocchet, who played 11 of his 18 NHL seasons with Philadelphia.

In Tocchet's first season, the Flyers are 36-24-12 heading into Sunday night's game vs. the Dallas Stars and making a late-season playoff push.

The Flyers have 84 points on the season and trail the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently own the second Eastern Conference wild card spot, with 87 points.

Philadelphia is coming off a huge 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night, thanks to Owen Tippett's hat trick. The Flyers trail the Red Wings and Ottawa Senators by two points in the wild-card standings.

The Flyers also signed 2025 first-round pick Porter Martone to a three-year, entry-level contract Sunday.