John Tortorella still open to coaching at 68 after brief stint ends with Golden Knights, report says

John Tortorella hasn’t closed the doorway connected coaching astatine 68, immoderate 2 months aft his latest, little stint ended 2 wins abbreviated of a Stanley Cup and not being retained by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“Oh, I privation to coach,” Tortorella told The Athletic this week successful a communicative posted connected Friday. “I privation to manager now. I’m not definite if that happens, and that’s wherever I americium successful my career. But I wanted to manager that Vegas team. I told (general manager Kelly McCrimmon) that.”

Tortorella’s tenure successful Vegas began with him replacing the fired Bruce Cassidy with 8 games near successful the regular season. And it ended successful mid-June with the Golden Knights losing the Stanley Cup Final successful six games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Though Tortorella pushed for his return, helium said helium respected McCrimmon’s determination to promote minor-league manager Ryan Craig.

“They’ve been processing (Craig) for a fig of years there,” helium said. “He’s a bully manager and a bully man.”

Tortorella has 24 seasons of NHL head-coaching experience, with the Golden Knights representing his seventh halt — including 2 abstracted tenures with the New York Rangers. He enjoyed his longest stint with Tampa Bay, spanning 2000-01 to 2007-08, during which helium won his lone Stanley Cup successful 2004. He besides coached successful Columbus, Philadelphia and Vancouver.

From Boston, Tortorella is sixth connected the NHL database and archetypal among U.S.-born coaches with 1,628 games coached. Tortorella’s 777 vocation wins fertile 2nd among U.S.-born coaches down Peter Laviolette’s 846. With a 70-72 vocation playoff record, he’s 20th connected the NHL database successful wins.

Tortorella lamented coming up abbreviated connected winning a 2nd Cup.

“I conjecture the connection I’d usage is disappointed,” Tortorella said.

“We didn’t decorativeness the job, and I wanted immoderate much clip with that nine to effort to decorativeness the job. That’s not my call. That’s the wide manager and president’s call,” helium added. “You conscionable get astir your concern aft that.”