Golden Knights – Vegas has hired Ryan Craig as its new head coach, replacing John Tortorella, with Craig stepping in after a run with the Henderson Silver Knights to lead a Stanley Cup Final roster. The bigger decision ahead may be roster churn: with William Karlsson set to ha
Vegas didn’t just change its head coach—it changed the temperature inside the room.
The Golden Knights have hired Ryan Craig as their next head coach, replacing John Tortorella. Craig arrives after a run in the American Hockey League with the Henderson Silver Knights. and now he takes over a Stanley Cup Final roster. That doesn’t mean the group that reached the Final in 2023-24 will simply run it back in 2026-27 with every player.
The shift starts with William Karlsson.
Karlsson is one of the few original members of the Golden Knights still on the team. He scored 40 goals in the inaugural season and became the face of the Golden Knights’ push that carried Vegas to its first Stanley Cup Final. He added a postseason that felt like proof of the identity the franchise had built. scoring 17 points in 22 games in the 2023 postseason as Vegas won its first title.
But his time in Vegas is expected to be ending with one year left on his contract.
There was a moment that made it feel abrupt. Karlsson was knocked out of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with an arm injury and did not return for Game 6. When it was over, he still finished second in regular-season points and third in playoff points for the franchise. The numbers don’t soften the reality of the decision coming this offseason.
If Karlsson’s Golden Knights chapter is closing, Vegas would likely shop him to younger teams that want veteran leadership. Columbus Blue Jackets were his original team, and Rick Bowness is looking to change the locker room culture. A move to the San Jose Sharks “seems unlikely” because of the two franchises’ checkered past. but the report notes it would still fit the kind of leadership role Karlsson could provide.
The plan may be simple: Vegas isn’t sentimental about roster turnover.
The Golden Knights have discarded most of the other “Golden Misfits” without much pomp or circumstance. There’s also a practical reason to expect momentum toward the trade market now—this summer, Vegas has a big contract obligation to manage.
That obligation has a name: Pavel Dorofeyev.
Even if Karlsson can be moved. Dorofeyev has to take priority in the Golden Knights’ offseason plans because he is seven years younger than Karlsson and is coming off the best season of his career. Dorofeyev scored 37 goals in the regular season and added 12 more in the postseason—both career highs. He slowed down in the Stanley Cup Final, but the report emphasizes he was not alone among Vegas’ top forwards. The future, in this view, lies with Dorofeyev—not Karlsson.
Vegas has built ways to stay salary-cap compliant without making trades in the past. Even this year. Alex Pietrangelo missed the entire season with an injury. which allowed Vegas to fit Mitch Marner under the cap. But there’s a boundary now: the rule change that maintains the salary cap through the playoffs prevents too much “funny business” from the Golden Knights.
What would Vegas get for Karlsson?
The expectation is that Vegas could recover some mid-round picks from him, but not much more. Karlsson has a 10-team no-trade list, which means he will have some say over where he goes. The report also stresses that a team likely won’t offer a first-round pick for a player in his mid-30s with injury concerns and limited offensive upside.
And Vegas’s internal assets are thin. The Golden Knights have almost nothing left in the picks and prospects department, so anything they can get would be a positive.
But the clock isn’t just about trades. It’s about timing the Dorofeyev deal.
If the Golden Knights do not act before July 1. the report says a team could sign Dorofeyev to an offer sheet. That would give Vegas more picks in return, but it wouldn’t bring them closer to a Stanley Cup. To avoid losing Dorofeyev to another club’s contract leverage. Vegas would have to pull off both of these moves—shaping the Karlsson situation while securing Dorofeyev—before the NHL Draft.
For Craig, that’s the job immediately after the introduction: step into the bench, yes—but also preside over a roster reshaping that looks as determined as it looks necessary.
Vegas has made cuts before. Now, with a new head coach coming in and one contract window closing on July 1, the next move may decide whether the Golden Knights repeat the climb—or start building a different team for the next Final run.
Vegas Golden Knights Ryan Craig John Tortorella William Karlsson Pavel Dorofeyev Henderson Silver Knights Stanley Cup Final trade market NHL Draft offer sheet Rick Bowness Columbus Blue Jackets San Jose Sharks Alex Pietrangelo Mitch Marner salary cap