The Vegas Golden Knights have named Ryan Craig of Abbotsford, British Columbia as their new head coach on Wednesday according to Rogers Sportsnet. Craig was the second head coach from British Columbia to be hired by a National Hockey League team on Wednesday. He followed Jim Hiller of Port Alberni, who was named the new bench boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Craig has been with the Golden Knights organization the last nine seasons. He was the assistant coach for Vegas for six seasons from 2017 to 2023, and the head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights (the Golden Knights top minor league affiliate) of the American Hockey League for three seasons from 2023 to 2026. While with the Golden Knights as an assistant coach, Craig won a Stanley Cup in 2023.
In Vegas, Craig replaces John Tortorella. With the Golden Knights, Tortorella was the Vegas bench boss for three months an took the franchise to the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals.
From 2005 to 2015, Craig played eight NHL seasons with three different teams. He was with the Tampa Bay Lightning for five seasons from 2005 to 2010, with the Pittsburgh Penguins for one season from 2010 to 2011, and the Columbus Blue Jackets for two seasons from 2013 to 2015. In 198 games, Craig had 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points. He was a -29 with 148 penalty minutes, 22 power-play points, two game-winning goals, and 301 shots on goal.
Craig’s first game-winning goal came on November 22, 2006 in a 6-4 Lightning win over the Florida Panthers. Craig scored from Eric Perrin of Laval, Quebec and Blair Jones of Central Butte, Saskatchewan on an all-Canadian goal at 12:12 of the third period which gave the Lightning a 5-4 lead at the time. Craig’s second game-winning goal came on February 1, 2007 in a 4-0 Lightning shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Martin St. Louis of Laval had the lone assist at 15:12 of the first period. St. Louis won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
