Golden Knights fire Bruce Cassidy, replace him with John Tortorella

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bruce Cassidy is out as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired him Sunday in an abrupt late-season change and replaced him with John Tortorella.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the move a day after the team lost three in a row and six of its past seven games. Vegas is in third place in the Pacific Division and on track to make the playoffs despite the recent skid.

Tortorella joins the organization for his 24th NHL season as a head coach. He was not in the league this year and was an assistant for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics when it won gold. He coached Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Cassidy led the Golden Knights to the Cup in 2023 and got fired less than three years later.

“Under Bruce’s leadership, we reached our ultimate goal in 2023 by bringing a Stanley Cup to Vegas," McCrimmon said in a statement. "Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was accomplished here. With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club.

"With John Tortorella, we bring in a Stanley Cup Champion as well as one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NHL. His guidance will be a great asset to our team at the pivotal point in the season we currently face.”

The change isn't necessarily surprising given the Golden Knights' play since the Olympics break in which they have gone 5-10-2 and they have been outscored by an average of 3.2 to 2.4 goals per game. Vegas for the first time will finish a season with more defeats than victories.

But the timing with eight games remaining in their regular season wasn't completely expected, especially with the Golden Knights four points ahead of Los Angeles for the third playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Patience isn't something Vegas is known for, however. The organization aggressively goes after the NHL's top players either through free agency or trades and holds its coaches to the highest standards. Though Cassidy is the longest-tenured coach in the club's history — he went 178-99-43 over four seasons — the Golden Knights are going with their fourth coach behind the bench as they finish their ninth season.

Expectations were high for this team going into the season after the splashy acquisition of forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade with Toronto. Vegas also later landed goalie Carter Hart in a controversial signing and traded for defenseman Rasmus Andersson among other notable moves.

And going into the break, the Golden Knights stood atop the division standings. But they have not looked like a contender since the return to play, and the moves that Cassidy made to near perfection three years ago in winning the Cup didn't provide the same return this time. Vegas has left plenty of points on the ice, losing 16 games in overtime or shootouts.

Whether firing Cassidy was an act of desperation or necessity or somewhere in between, all the focus will be on Tortorella's ability to maximize what management clearly believes is a roster capable of competing for a championship. Given that five of its members played in the gold medal game at the Olympics, that assertion might not be completely unfounded.

Five teams have won the Cup since 2000 after changing coaches in the season, most recently in 2019 when St. Louis replaced Mike Yeo with Craig Berube and the Blues defeated Cassidy and the Boston Bruins. Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev was on that Blues team, playing alongside future Vegas teammate Alex Pietrangelo.

Tortorella figures to bring a different energy to the Golden Knights. Cassidy wasn't easy on his players, but he also loved to discuss the cerebral elements of the game. Tortorella brings the reputation into the veteran locker room of a fiery coach who doesn't back down from confrontations, often winning early before later wearing thin with his players.

He has posted a 770-648-37 career record while coaching five teams. In addition to taking the Lightning to the Stanley Cup championship early this century, he also was on Columbus' bench when the Blue Jackets swept Presidents' Trophy winner Tampa Bay in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.

The coach known as Torts has a short amount of time to work that kind of magic in Vegas, beginning with Monday night's home game against Vancouver.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

FILE - John Tortorella, Philadelphia Flyers head coach, arrives for a news conference at the NHL hockey team's arena on May 12, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, March 3, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 27 points, Elliot Cadeau had 10 assists and Michigan rolled into the Final Four, overwhelming Tennessee for a 95-62 victory in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Morez Johnson Jr. added 12 points for top-seeded Michigan, which posted its 11th victory this season by at least 30 points. Aday Mara had 11 points and blocked two shots in the Midwest Region final.

Making the most of its size and athleticism on both sides of the court, Michigan (35-3) advanced to its first Final Four since 2018 and ninth overall. Next up is a showdown with Arizona in Saturday's national semifinals.

“We always wanted to play against them, that team,” Lendeborg said. “They're a really, really good team, so it's going to be a super fun matchup.”

Under second-year coach Dusty May — who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023 — the Wolverines became the first school to win at least four games in an NCAA tourney by double digits while scoring at least 90 points in each.

Lendeborg, who was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player, was 10 for 19 from the field. He became the first Michigan player to score at least 23 points in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games since Juwan Howard did it in four straight in 1994.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting for Tennessee (25-12), which lost in the Elite Eight for the third straight year under Rick Barnes. The 71-year-old coach reached his only Final Four in 2003 with Texas.

“We certainly know what it takes to get here,” Barnes said. “Now we’ve got to figure out getting through to the next level, and it’s on this day, you’ve got to really be at your best.”

Felix Okpara finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers, who shot just 32% (24 of 76) from the field. Each team had 42 rebounds — a major problem for a Tennessee team that usually enjoys an advantage on the glass.

Michigan grabbed control with a 21-0 run in the first half, going from a 16-14 deficit with 11:22 left to a 35-16 lead with 6:10 remaining.

“That's when our defense started clicking,” Lendeborg said. “We started running out on the break and started doing what we do best, and once that happened, man, I think the game was pretty much called right there.”

Once again, Lendeborg was the conductor of an offensive show for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-9 forward switched hands on a slick reverse layup, then made a no-look pass to Roddy Gayle Jr. for a 3-pointer on a fast break. Then he set up a 3 by Cadeau with 7:52 to go.

After Tennessee made a push to get back in the game, Lendeborg scored on a fast break and found Trey McKenney for a 3 at the end of a 7-0 run that made it 48-26 at halftime.

“We had open looks,” Barnes said. “We had some open shots that didn’t go down, and that’s where they were able to get out and capitalize.”

It was more of the same in the second half. Mara, a 7-foot-3 center, stepped outside for one of the Wolverines’ 10 3-pointers. The Michigan portion of the United Center crowd cheered wildly when seldom-used reserves Charlie May — the coach's son — and Oscar Goodman entered for the final few minutes.

Goodman scored with 2:32 left and May made a 3 with 1:02 remaining for Michigan’s final basket.

“Just playing together and understanding that we all need each other to be successful,” said Nimari Burnett, who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. “So making that extra pass, that unselfish play that leads from a good shot to a great shot, I feel like we had a lot of that, especially in the first half that built that lead.

“We like where we are right now at the end of the game.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg celebrates after defeating Tennessee in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tennessee's Felix Okpara heads to the bench during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tennessee's Jaylen Carey (23) and Michigan's Elliot Cadeau (3) reach for the ball as Tennessee's Nate Ament (10) watches during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Michigan's Roddy Gayle Jr. (11), Yaxel Lendeborg (23) and Elliot Cadeau (3) celebrate during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Tennessee, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg (23) celebrates during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Tennessee, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)