The situation in Vegas continues to blow up for Mitch Marner and his teammates. Things were supposed to be better, not messy and convoluted.
But here we are.
The Golden Knights shocked the NHL world by firing their coach Bruce Cassidy nary three weeks before the start of the 2026 NHL playoffs. The circumstances in Vegas seemed iffy this year. But no one really thought they were THIS bad.
It’s generally uncommon for a playoff team to fire its coach in-season. And it’s practically unheard of for a playoff team to let its coach go at this point in the season. Yet, the Golden Knights pulled the trigger.
For Mitch Marner, this situation adds another layer of intrigue and complexity to his controversial exodus from Toronto. Marner fled the mess that had become playing for “The Chief.” The days of the laissez-faire Sheldon Keefe era were nothing more than warm memories.
Now, Marner is back in a similar situation. The Golden Knights chose to replace Cassidy with John Tortorella.
Oh boy…
Tortorella has a reputation for being a difficult coach to play for. His last stint in Philadelphia didn’t end very well. One of the major criticisms was Torts’ inability to get along well with players. Lord only knows how he’s going to get along with the crew in Sin City.
Marner faces another challenging relationship with a head coach
While there was nothing to suggest that Marner had a difficult relationship with Craig Berube, the former Leaf had a tough time dealing with Mike Babcock’s personality.
It became a matter of public record that Marner and Babcock had their issues during Marner’s rookie season. Babcock has also been described as an authoritarian who doesn’t give players much leeway.
That’s Torts in a nutshell and then some. With the Golden Knights riding a three-game losing streak and skidding at 3-5-2 in their last 10, you have to think that Tortorella will come in and lay down the law.
This is just a bold prediction, but it’s something that won’t sit too well with Vegas’ current crop of players. If anything, the move this late in the season, and with the firebrand personality that Torts brings, things could quickly spiral out of control in Vegas.
The Golden Knights are far from secure in a playoff spot. They could still drop to a wild card spot. There, the Nashville Predators or the red-hot Bobby McMann and the Seattle Kraken could make minced meat out of the Golden Knights.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if Marner ended up missing the playoffs in his first season in Vegas?