Golden Knights’ John Tortorella joins exclusive club after West Final win

The Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Stanley Cup Final. They completed the sweep over the Colorado Avalanche in dominant fashion. In fact, the Golden Knights held Nathan MacKinnon without a goal throughout the series. It’s an incredible job well done by head coach John Tortorella, especially considering the circumstances.

Tortorella is an experienced coach, but he doesn’t have a lot of experience with the Golden Knights. He took the Vegas job with just eight games remaining in the 2025-26 regular season. In that time, he guided Vegas to a Pacific Division title. And now, he has made history after guiding the team to the Stanley Cup Final.

“John Tortorella is 1 of 3 coaches to reach the Stanley Cup Final after taking over as coach with 10 games or less left in the regular season, joining Roger Neilson (5 games – 1982 Canucks) and Larry Robinson (8 games – 2000 Devils),” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported on Tuesday night, crediting ESPN Insights for the information.

Vegas had some rough sledding against two up-and-coming teams before the West Final. Both the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks took Vegas to six games before being eliminated. The Mammoth even held a series lead at one point. However, it was a much different story in the West Final.

The Avalanche had no answer for the Golden Knights. Vegas shut down MacKinnon and other top contributors such as Martin Necas. They even forced a goaltending change, with Scott Wedgewood bowing out for Mackenzie Blackwood.

No matter what anyone thought before the series, Vegas has earned its Western Conference title. They will now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes.

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