LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights already made one major coaching decision, and now they likely will need to make another one.
They hired John Tortorella with eight games left in the regular season in a move that included firing Bruce Cassidy. But there were no guarantees Tortorella would remain the coach beyond this season.
By taking Vegas all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before the Golden Knights lost in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes, Tortorella would seem to have a good argument to get an extended stay. But he wasn't ready to think about that Sunday night after a 3-0 loss that ended his team's season.
“I've got to swallow this a little bit,” Tortorella said.
As he has done since coming aboard, Tortorella praised the organization and the players, and even with the loss to Carolina still quite fresh, he didn't sound like a coach ready to step away as his 68th birthday approaches.
“I feel very fortunate to get to know the team, get to know the organization,” Tortorella said. “It's a first-class organization. Just to have the opportunity. I wanted to coach. I want to coach. To jump in with this gang, I feel so fortunate.”
The Golden Knights had fallen from first to third place in the Pacific Division when general manager Kelly McCrimmon made the bold move to fire Cassidy, who coached Vegas to the 2023 Stanley Cup.
“If we didn’t have the expectations and the belief in our team that we do, we probably would have let this thing ride out,” McCrimmon said at the time. “We like our team a lot, and we think our team has a chance to win. We needed to make this change to help that happen.”
McCrimmon turned out to be right.
The Golden Knights took off under Tortorella, going 7-0-1 to finish the regular season and claim the Pacific Division for the fifth time in the franchise's nine years. They then eliminated Utah and Anaheim in six games each in the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs.
Then came the real shocker, a sweep of Colorado, which not only won the Presidents' Trophy, but had gone 8-1 in the postseason.
That set up the final with Carolina, and the Golden Knights took 2-1 series lead. But the Hurricanes then won three in a row to capture their first Cup in 20 years and send Vegas players into an offseason of what-could-have-beens.
Should he return, Tortorella likes his chances to make another deep run next year, and the Golden Knights will again possess one of the NHL's more talented rosters that includes players such as Mitch Marner, Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and Mark Stone.
This also is an organization not afraid to go look for more talent.
“I know we're on the wrong end of it here, but I just feel that's a strong room,” Tortorella said. “I'm anxious to see what happens next year because it has another chance.”
Doesn't sound like a coach ready to hang it up.
What management thinks should be known in the coming days.
Freelance writer W.G. Ramirez contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella, right, talks to a referee during the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 15, 2026--
Today, Argonaut Manufacturing Services (“Argonaut”), a US-based sterile fill-finish CDMO, and Ensera, a CDMO with facilities in the US, and Europe and Asia, specializing in final assembly and secondary packaging for drug delivery systems, announce a new strategic partnership.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260615887507/en/
The collaboration aligns aseptic fill-finish with device assembly and packaging services to simplify supply chains, reduce operational risk and accelerate production timelines.
Argonaut provides aseptic fill-finish of vials, syringes, and cartridges using Annex 1 compliant isolator filling lines, as well as analytical testing and stability studies. Ensera complements these capabilities with final assembly of drug delivery devices, labelling, secondary packaging, kitting, serialization, sterilization management and testing for vials and drug delivery devices.
Through the partnership, customers can benefit from a streamlined quotation process covering both organizations’ services before starting a project. Projects that contract Argonaut and Ensera will benefit from closely coordinated project management that supports aligned fill-finish and device assembly activities across all stages of development and manufacturing.
Argonaut has completed an audit of Ensera’s U.S. facility and approved Ensera as a critical supply chain partner. This demonstrates the companies’ commitment to aligning high quality standards for clinical and commercial programs.
By leveraging expertise within and improving coordination between manufacturing stages, the partnership addresses several growing challenges in the combination product landscape, supply chain fragmentation, constrained capacity for mid-market programs, and increasing pressure to accelerate timelines for specialty biologics and biosimilars.
Rick Hancock, CEO, Argonaut, commented:
“More than ever, our clients are focused on developing their products in conjunction with autoinjectors to improve accessibility for patients. While this is a commendable goal, it adds complexity to supply chains. This partnership with Ensera eases that burden for sponsors. Just as our clients are focused on improving the patient experience, Argonaut is focused on improving our clients' experience.”
Jason Anderson, CEO, Ensera, added:
“This partnership reflects a shared focus on supporting the needs of pharmaceutical companies developing complex combination products, particularly in low to mid-volume scenarios where flexibility and coordination are essential. By aligning our device assembly and packaging expertise with Argonaut’s fill-finish capabilities, we are making it easier for customers to navigate critical transition points, reduce risk, and maintain momentum as their products progress toward commercialization.”
Both companies will be attending the BIO International Convention in San Diego, where they will be available to discuss how the collaboration can support upcoming programs.
About Argonaut
Located in Carlsbad, CA, Argonaut is a fill-finish CDMO specializing in clinical to commercial aseptic manufacturing of vials, syringes, and cartridges. The company operates two isolator-based, fully automated filling lines compliant with Annex 1 and FDA standards and utilizes high-yield processes and 100% weight checks to significantly reduce line losses. Argonaut also provides onsite analytical support and stability studies.
Learn more at www.argonautms.com
About Ensera
Ensera is a global CDMO supporting pharmaceutical and medical device companies with device design, final assembly, labeling, and secondary packaging of injectable formats, including autoinjectors and pre-filled syringes.
Its flexible GMP cleanroom operations across Europe and the US are optimized for low-to-medium batch volumes, supported by integrated quality systems and cold chain infrastructure. An approved assembly partner for leading autoinjector platforms from SHL, Ypsomed and BD, Ensera combines device and pharmaceutical expertise to deliver efficient, compliant supply for combination products.
Learn more at www.ensera.com
Ensera and Argonaut Partner to Streamline Supply for Drug-Device Combination Products
