Sunday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights made a late-season coaching change dismissing Stanley Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy and bringing in John Tortorella in the hopes of jump starting a team that has underachieved all season. VGK President of Hockey Operations George McPhee joins Neil and Vic to discuss the move.
Among the Three Things you Need to Pay Attention To, guess who is within one point of a wild card spot in the West?
Also, we'll have a full playoff race update, discussion about various acts of pugilism around the league and what did we learn - or not - from the Keith Pelley presser on Tuesday?
IN THIS EPISODE:
[02:11] - Three Things You Need to Pay Attention To
[11:21] - Golden Knights President of Hockey Operations George McPhee joins the show. After briefly touching on 1994 - which saw McPhee as part of the Vancouver Canucks organization - Neil notes from experience the difficulty letting people go, something McPhee did with his head coach Sunday.
[13:56] - Neil follows up with George noting the decision to make a coaching change is something that builds over time and not an impulse decision.
[17:30] - Vic draws a comparison between the stellar run to the Stanley Cup in 2023 to what the numbers have said about the Golden Knights since January - a sample size large enough to support the concern.
[21:46] - On to Tortorella and his recognition to evolve in that the game and the players are vastly different from the Stanley Cup team he coached in 2004 and four other venues since.
[24:06] - The key personnel on the Golden Knights that will be counted on even more since the coaching change.
[26:59] - When the Golden Knights made the surprise run to the Final in 2018, the inaugural team was hard, fast and smart. Many of the those signatures were part of the 2023 team. What type of style will Tortorella need to employ to ensure success with the NHL's third oldest team?
[28:25] - A brief look back at Torts first game behind the VGK bench.
[30:57] - Wrapping out the chat with George McPhee.
[32:57] - Standings update.
[41:46] - Three very different types of pugilism played out Monday and Tuesday, including a goaltending bout at MSG.
[49:29] - Personnel notes - Injuries, returns and milestones.
[53:56] - A long-time AHL play-by-play man gets a tribute in Buffalo.
[55:57] - Notable birthdays.
X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound
Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil
Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/
NHL Wraparound Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhlwraparound/
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