The Vegas Golden Knights hired former Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella on March 29, only eight games before the end of the 2025–26 regular season.
Now, with only five games lost in both the regular season and playoffs since being hired, Tortorella and the Golden Knights are heading to the Western Conference Final.
After taking down the Utah Mammoth in six games during the first-round of the 2026 post-season, Vegas has knocked out an up-and-coming Anaheim Ducks team that defeated the Edmonton Oilers and brought the Golden Knights to six games.
This is the fifth time in their nine-season franchise history that the Golden Knights have made it to the Conference Finals. Vegas has made it to the Stanley Cup Final twice in their club history, losing to the Washington Capitals in their inaugural season (2018) and winning in 2023. They have only missed the post-season once, in 2022.
Tortorella has made the post-season 13 times in his coaching career, winning the Stanley Cup once with the Tampa Bay Lighting in 2003–04. He has made it to the Conference Finals only one other time throughout his career — with the New York Rangers in 2012. In his lone season as the Canucks’ head coach, Vancouver went 36–35–11 during the regular season and did not make the playoffs.
Also an ex-Canuck heading to the Western Conference Final with Vegas is Nic Dowd, who played with Vancouver for 40 games before heading to Washington for the better-half of eight seasons. While he didn’t end up getting on the scoresheet during the Golden Knights’ second-round series against the Ducks, Dowd played an important role against the Mammoth, scoring the game-winning goal in Game 1 and finding the back of the net in Game 3.
May 8, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd (26) passes the puck to right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) against Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe (2) during the first period in game three of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Hutton, the ex-Canuck and current Golden Knight who spent the most time with Vancouver, did not play in Vegas’ first-round series but found himself back in the lineup against Anaheim. The defenceman has served as a solid depth defender for the Golden Knights since joining the organization in 2021–22, steadily averaging 14 to 16 minutes per game.
Vegas will now move on to face the Colorado Avalache in the Western Conference Final. The Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild in five games while also sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the first-round.
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