Ryan Craig's journey to Golden Knights coach began as a player

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Craig wasn't ready to walk away from being a player, but he could see the end in sight in the early 2010s while playing in Pittsburgh's organization and began keeping a journal of how he might handle different situations as a coach.

Others also envisioned him in a leadership role, and Craig was nine times named the captain of an American Hockey League team.

Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who has known Craig for nearly 30 years, saw that potential early as well. Craig became an assistant coach for the Golden Knights in 2017 when they were about to play their first NHL season, and even as the franchise changed head coaches, he remained in some form.

And now Craig is the club's head coach, having been named to that post on Wednesday and formally introduced in a news conference on Thursday.

“I’ve seen firsthand what he does to people around him, how he treats people,” McCrimmon said. “I’ve said to him many times, ‘Craig, you’re going to be a really good NHL head coach if you’re not in a hurry. You need to do it in the proper steps.’ He’s done exactly that.”

Craig replaces John Tortorella, who was hired with eight games left in the regular season and led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final before they lost in six games to Carolina.

“I’m ready for this opportunity,” Craig said. “I’m grateful for it. I'm ready to get to work.”

McCrimmon has known the 44-year-old Craig since he was 15 and played for the Brandon Wheat Kings, a Canadian junior team, when McCrimmon was the owner and GM.

“Craig has been 40 as long as I've known him,” McCrimmon said jokingly.

Craig's hiring is a departure from the Golden Knights' usual way of doing business.

From Gerard Gallant to Pete DeBoer to Bruce Cassidy to Tortorella, the franchise has hired coaches who have been successful in the NHL. Craig is the first to come through the young organization's system.

He went to AHL's Henderson following the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup championship because McCrimmon said it was important that Craig get head coaching experience.

The 6-year-old Henderson Silver Knights set a franchise record with 90 points this season, going 39-21-12 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Craig said he learned when he became the head coach that he is the one who “control(s) the temperature of the room,” and has to take more of a big-picture approach rather than focus on a particular area of the team such as special teams.

“As a head guy, you go to bed every night thinking about what the message is and you wake up thinking about the message and what your team needs and what individuals need,” Craig said. “And until you experience that, I believe that's foreign to you. You have to live it.”

He has an advantage compared to prior Golden Knights coaches in that Craig intimately understands the organization and has coached many of its players. Vegas captain Mark Stone is one of them and he attended the news conference.

Because of his deep knowledge of the organization, Craig also knows there isn't a true honeymoon phase. The Golden Knights have made the postseason in eight of their nine seasons and expect to go deep into the playoffs each year.

They came within two victories of winning the Stanley Cup this season and are listed at 10-1 at BetMGM Sportsbook to win it all next year, behind only Colorado (7-1) and Carolina (7 1/2-1).

Craig understands the difference of being in the head coach's seat, and few are hotter than the one in Vegas.

“Our organization from day one has always tried to hire the best people for their jobs, whether it’s our players, whether it's coaches,” McCrimmon said. “We’ve always hired the best available coach, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today — hire the best available coach that’s going to lead our organization.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Vegas Golden Knights formally introduce Ryan Craig as their new coach Thursday, June 18, 2026, at City National Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark Anderson)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A proposal to temporarily increase taxes on billionaires in California to counter federal cuts to healthcare for low-income people has sufficient public support to qualify for the November ballot, the state’s top elections official said.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners have collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the proposed tax before voters. It will qualify June 25 unless proponents pull the measure.

“Now that California’s historic Billionaire Tax has surpassed the state’s signature requirement, we’re one step closer to saving the hospitals and emergency rooms that we all rely on,” said Debru Carthan, a spokesperson for the group backing the tax.

The proposal, supported by the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West, would impose a one-time, 5% tax on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion and who were living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. The goal is to generate $100 billion in revenue, mainly to fund the state’s Medicaid system with some money going to food assistance and education programs.

States have been debating how to respond to the major tax breaks and spending cuts legislation President Donald Trump signed last year. The proposal has already divided Democrats and major labor unions and triggered an expensive campaign to defeat it. The proposed tax is backed by prominent progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The measure has faced staunch pushback from Silicon Valley tech moguls as well as Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and prominent players in Sacramento. They include the California Medical Association and California School Boards Association, which helped launch a committee this week to oppose it. Newsom also opposed a ballot measure in 2022 to increase taxes on the wealthy, which would have funded programs that help people buy electric cars or install more chargers. Voters rejected it.

Critics say the measure would decrease state revenue over time by pushing the ultrawealthy to leave, taking the money they would contribute in income taxes with them. That would deal a huge blow to a state that relies on its top 1% of earners for nearly half its personal income tax revenue.

“This flawed measure is the wrong approach for California’s small businesses and working families,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesperson for Golden State Promise, a political committee fighting the tax.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that the proposal would generate tens of billions of dollars in the first few years, but that income tax revenues could subsequently decline by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Since the proposal was announced in October, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated $82 million to a political committee called Building a Better California that backs a variety of initiatives designed to blunt the billionaire tax proposal. It has raised more than $118 million, counting Brin’s contributions, from fewer than a dozen donors.

State lawmakers passed budget bills this week that aim to raise revenue in other ways, including by extending a tax on healthcare providers. Newsom and legislative leaders agree to this approach, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón said.

“The budget, as approved by the Legislature and now being negotiated with the Governor, does not include the billionaire’s tax,” the Democrat said in a statement. “Instead, it reflects additional revenues to address our long-term structural deficit.”

FILE - A large banner is seen at a campaign event for a proposed "billionaires tax" in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)