Insider Wonders if Oilers or Maple Leafs Would Hire John Tortorella

The Vegas Golden Knights hiring John Tortorella with just over two weeks left in the regular season went about as well as it possibly could have. A run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final ultimately fell short in a six-game series loss to an excellent Carolina Hurricanes team.

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It appeared to be exactly what a floundering Golden Knights squad needed, but the question now becomes: was that all for Tortorella in Sin City?

He mentioned postgame that he’s the coach until June 30 and is anxious to see what comes next. That, along with various other potential options ready to take over in Vegas, had Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman wondering about the two lone and polarizing head coaching vacancies still available: Edmonton and Toronto.

Friedman said:

“Someone’s going to hire that guy (John Tortorella), he just did an incredible job… With Tortorella, there’s two teams that have coaching openings right now. You know Edmonton, but so does Toronto. And I’d be curious to see if Vegas doesn’t keep him, would there be any chance Toronto would think about it, or Edmonton?”

The 67-year-old Tortorella went 7-0-1 in eight regular season games before posting a 14-8 record this postseason after taking over for Bruce Cassidy as head coach of the Golden Knights in late March.

The Oilers would seem to make more sense than the Maple Leafs given their desperation level and their shrinking window to win with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They are clearly seeking a veteran, hard-nosed, proven winner, and Tortorella checks all of those boxes.

For Toronto, while it would certainly be interesting, the fit may not be ideal for either side unless the Maple Leafs plan to retool around Auston Matthews and William Nylander this summer with the goal of immediately getting back to competing for the Stanley Cup.

Tortorella’s situation is fascinating, and the fact that Edmonton and Toronto are the two teams still looking for a new bench boss only makes it all the more intriguing.

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