Ryan Craig doesn’t need a complicated blueprint to win over Vegas Golden Knights fans in his first season. He needs three things: stay clean, steady the ship when the calendar turns ugly, and bring home the Stanley Cup.
That’s the bar for the new head coach, and it’s a different kind of test than the one the front office was looking for. Craig isn’t arriving as a veteran outsider like John Tortorella or Bruce Cassidy.
He’s the in-house answer, a coach who has been around the organization since "Day F*****g One." For general manager Kelly McCrimmon, that means a known quantity - someone proven, someone familiar, and someone with a chance to grow into the job for years.
And in a league where coaches can be shown the door after two or three seasons, that matters. The NHL doesn’t give much time for patience anymore. Win fast, or the clock starts ticking.
For Craig, the first item is simple: avoid the kind of mess that can sour a fanbase. The Golden Knights’ supporters saw how quickly opinion can shift.
John Tortorella had plenty of doubters early, then changed minds by helping the team finish 7-0-1 in its last eight regular-season games and win the Pacific Division. But that changed after the incident following Game 6 of the Second Round, and the backlash grew even more after questionable choices in the Stanley Cup Final.
Craig can get ahead of all that by keeping the focus on hockey and steering clear of controversy.
The next hurdle comes in the roughest stretch of the season. January and February have not exactly been friendly to Vegas, with injuries piling up as the team heads toward the break.
That’s where Craig has a chance to show he can hold the room together. A next-man-up approach, a team that keeps competing, veterans who stay engaged instead of drifting - that’s how he can earn trust when the season gets heavy.
The Pacific Division isn’t getting any softer, either, with up-and-coming teams waiting in the wings.
But really, everything circles back to the obvious answer.
Win the Stanley Cup.
Duh.
That’s the fastest route to the fanbase’s heart, and it wouldn’t even be new territory for a Golden Knights coach. Bruce Cassidy already did it in 2022-23 after Pete DeBoer was fired in the summer of 2022.
Craig has the roster to make a run, and he has the general manager who can help push the team through the finish line. If he trusts the system and gets the job done, he won’t just win over the fans - he’ll put himself in position to lead Vegas to its second Stanley Cup.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Still Have One Roster Hunt Fans Should Watch
The Golden Knights head into opening night with roughly $1.9 million in salary-cap space, and that leaves them with at least one more roster conversation worth watching. After a busy stretch of changes, the front office still has room to keep exploring veteran help, especially as the PTO market remains part of the picture for unsigned players looking to extend their careers and teams looking for low-risk options.
Matt Grzelcyk, James van Riemsdyk and Vladimir Tarasenko are among the names that could surface if Vegas decides to bring in another body on a professional tryout contract. Each would bring a different kind of value, and the appeal for the Golden Knights is obvious: there is still flexibility here, but not enough to be casual about it, which is why the next move could say a lot about how the roster settles before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Chose Patience While Familiar Faces Cashed In Elsewhere
The Golden Knights spent much of the offseason taking the slower, steadier route, keeping their own business in order while a flurry of big-money deals rippled across the league. Vegas extended Rasmus Andersson, brought back Victor Olofsson and made a coaching change by promoting Ryan Craig after parting ways with John Tortorella, a set of moves that looked modest next to the headline-grabbing contracts being handed out elsewhere.
Among the familiar names cashing in were former Golden Knights Alex Tuch and Pavel Dorofeyev, who both landed long-term security with the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, respectively. Those deals are the kind that can look smart or risky depending on how the next few seasons unfold, and they also underscore how deliberately Vegas chose its own path, betting that patience and restraint may age better than the rush to lock in every major piece on the market. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Just Got A Dynasty-Level Stanley Cup Case
The NHLs next five-year window has a handful of clubs with a real chance to keep the Stanley Cup conversation crowded, and Vegas is right in that mix. The Golden Knights have already shown what a modern contender can look like, with a roster built to compete immediately and an organization that has spent recent seasons establishing itself among the leagues most dangerous teams. For a team like Vegas, the standard is no longer just making noise in the West, but staying positioned to chase the Cup year after year.
Still, the broader argument around the league is shifting as Carolina gets framed as the team with the clearest dynasty-level case. The Hurricanes are being measured not only against recent champions, but against other heavyweight threats such as Dallas, Montreal, Colorado, and Vegas, each of them carrying their own combination of talent, coaching stability, and recent playoff relevance. For the Golden Knights, that means the pressure stays constant: the path is there, but so is the competition. [Read more 🡒]