Despite a late-season coaching switch, an ongoing controversy around that move, and hefty league penalties for violating media protocols during the postseason, the Golden Knights have reached the NHL Stanley Cup Final and are now trying to build a modern-day dynasty.
The Golden Knights completed a stunning Western Conference Final sweep Tuesday of the Avalanche, winner of the 2025-26 President’s Trophy winner and tied for the ninth-best regular season in NHL history. With that dismantling of Colorado, Vegas is now in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time since beginning as an expansion franchise in the 2017–18 season and are seeking their second championship in four seasons.
The emphatic nature of the Golden Knights’ playoff run, and the improbability of it, extends what has been a frenetic two months for the franchise. Since late March, the team has:
Fired former head coach Bruce Cassidy, who led Vegas to the 2023 Stanley Cup title, and replaced him with John Tortortella, an NHL coaching veteran but most recently working as an on-air analyst for ESPN.
Revived dramatically under Tortorella, as he has posted a 19-4-1 record since arriving, including the current run of six straight playoff victories. Tortorella, however, was also a central figure in Vegas skipping post-game media availability during the Western Conference Semifinals and a larger pattern by the team of violating NHL media policies. The league fined Tortortella $100,000 and docked the Golden Knights a second-round draft pick, with those penalties held up on appeal.
