You can certainly call it an act of desperation because it is.

But this is what they do, right? If the feeling upstairs is that a Stanley Cup is not within a workable distance — be it at the trade deadline or with eight regular-season games remaining — the Golden Knights are going to make a major move.

In this instance, Bruce Cassidy was the fall guy for such a time.

Cassidy was fired as coach Sunday in what ranks as one of the more surprising moments in franchise history.

Arguably the largest one yet.

And you thought trading Marc-Andre Fleury was a big deal.

That had nothing on this.

Heck. The Fleury deal was actually expected.

This one … um, not so much.

His roster

Perhaps believing his team needed the ultimate of wake-up calls, general manager Kelly McCrimmon fired a coach who in 2023 led the Knights to the Cup title in his first season.

This is McCrimmon’s roster. He constructed it. He wasn’t going to fire the players. Even those who have lost six of seven and sit third in the Pacific Division.

Look. They haven’t been good since the Winter Olympic break. We’re talking 5-10-2 bad. It was first about a lack of goal scoring, of their stars not nearly playing up to their contracts and expectations.

But now that pucks are finding the net, it’s more about goaltending issues. And if that can’t be fixed, no coaching change is going to make this team into a Cup contender overnight.

McCrimmon has proven he’ll do anything to win, and that in a large sense should be respected. Fans know the Golden Knights exist with just one ambition each season, and that’s to lift a Cup.

I like a win-at-all-costs mentality.

It’s far better than the alternative.

But firing a coach who has been so successful for your franchise this late in a season also doesn’t make much sense.

And what can we expect from new coach John Tortorella with the playoffs looming so closely?

How much can we expect him to try to change? Lines? The power play? He has a track record of getting teams where they want to go but yet at the same time burning them out.

There probably isn’t enough time remaining this season for that to occur, but know this: The tenor within the room will be far different with Tortorella running things than with Cassidy.

It will be interesting to see how some, especially veteran, established players, respond to him.

What sort of difference can a new coach make in such a short amount of time? Does he install an entirely new system with less than a month remaining before the playoffs?

McCrimmon must believe such can work or you don’t decide on this sort of move. He must believe this gives the team its best chance to go on a run.

If it works, and the Knights indeed make a push for a Stanley Cup — they’re definitely talented enough to do so — then anything that happened Sunday will be forgotten.

That’s sports.

It’s still strange. Cassidy fell into the Knights’ laps upon the firing of Pete DeBoer and the former being dumped by the Boston Bruins.

One of the NHL’s best coaches was suddenly available, and all he did was immediately direct the franchise to a championship.

Now he’s gone — the winningest coach in franchise history — not four years into his tenure.

In a few months

“We thank Bruce Cassidy for his dedication to our hockey club and community over the past four seasons,” McCrimmon said in a statement. “Under Bruce’s leadership, we reached our ultimate goal in 2023 by bringing a Stanley Cup to Vegas. Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was accomplished here. With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club.”

Translation: He doesn’t think right now they’re within workable distance of winning the Cup. So, typical of the Knights, they make a major move.

Call it an act of desperation, but this is what they do.

We’ll see in a few months if it was the correct one.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.

Up next

Who: Canucks at Golden Knights

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Where: T-Mobile Arena

TV: KMCC-34

Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM

Line: Knights -325; total 6½