Ryan Craig Becomes Golden Knights’ Fifth Coach
Ryan Craig became the fifth coach in Golden Knights franchise history on Wednesday, moving up from Henderson after three years guiding the club’s AHL affiliate. The hire comes after John Tortorella was told Tuesday that he would not be returning, giving Vegas a fresh hand at the top of a team that reached the Stanley Cup Final this season.
Craig’s Rise Through Vegas
Craig has been with the organization since 2017, when he joined Gerard Gallant’s staff as an assistant coach. He later served as a lead assistant under Pete DeBoer from 2020 to 2022, then stayed through Bruce Cassidy’s first season with the Knights in 2023 before taking over in Henderson two weeks after the NHL club finished its championship run.
His path inside the organization has been steady. Craig spent 198 career NHL games as a player after Tampa Bay selected him 255th overall in 2002, and he added 711 AHL games to that resume before moving behind the bench. The Golden Knights kept him in-house rather than looking outside the system, a move that keeps the same organizational thread running through a franchise that has leaned on continuity since 2017.
Silver Knights Results
The Henderson job gave Craig a useful test run. He led the Silver Knights to the Calder Cup Playoffs this past season, finishing the regular season with a 17-3-3 run. Henderson then won its first Calder Cup Playoff series in team history by sweeping the San Jose Barracuda before falling to the Colorado Eagles in four games.
That work also connected him to the next wave of Vegas talent. Craig helped develop Braeden Bowman and Kai Uchacz, two undrafted forwards who made their NHL debuts this season, while goaltender Carl Lindbom also reached the league for the first time. The promotion puts the same coach who worked with those younger players directly in charge of the NHL roster.
Golden Knights’ Recent Run
The timing matches a team that still expects immediate results. Vegas finished 7-0-1 to clinch a fifth Pacific Division title in nine years and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in that span. It lost the Final in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes, then replaced Cassidy with Tortorella after March 29.
For the Golden Knights, the change keeps the decision inside the organization while moving a long-time staffer into the most visible job in the franchise. Craig arrives with familiarity, a track record in Henderson and a direct line to players already moving between the two teams, and he now takes over a club that has treated coaching changes as part of the pressure that comes with staying in the contender class.
