The former head coach of the Henderson Silver Knights and a loyal member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Ryan Craig, was officially hired as the team’s fifth head coach on Monday, June 15.

This move wasn’t a surprise to NHL Network analyst E.J. Hradek, who had been watching closely all along.

According to Hradek, this had been the plan for a while.

"Well, I'm not really surprised at all," Hradek said during the interview as posted by NHL Media on June 18. "That was the talk if you were around the Vegas Golden Knights. They were going to hire Ryan Craig as their head coach. He had been a part of their organization since the inception."

Craig spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Golden Knights from 2017 to 2023. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native capped off his tenure by helping Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2023 and was part of five playoff appearances during his time with the organization.

Hradek also talked about Craig's career with Henderson as an important part of his career, giving him enough time to build and guide a team on his own. 

"Even before that, he went down and has been a head coach in Henderson in the minors going back to their time," he noted. 

As head coach of the Silver Knights over the past three seasons, Craig brought steady success for the club. The team recorded 28 wins in 2023–24, followed by 29 in 2024–25 and 39 in 2025–26.

When asked about what could have changed the plans, Hradek was blunt.

"I thought that was gonna happen, and the only thing that could change that plan was if the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup," he said. "If they had, it would've been, I think, much more tricky."

If Vegas had captured another Stanley Cup, the organization might have been more inclined to keep its coaching structure intact.

Why Vegas chose Ryan Craig

The Golden Knights' hiring Craig happened right after the departure of John Tortorella. According to reports, Tortorella wanted to hold the role, but Vegas counted on Craig, whom the franchise has known for the past nine years.

The General Manager, Kelly McCrimmon, who has known Craig since his playing days with the Brandon Wheat Kings, announced this decision at a press conference.

McCrimmon noted that because Craig had no prior NHL head coaching experience, it would not have been fair to install him as Bruce Cassidy’s replacement in late March during a playoff push.

However, Craig's time guiding Henderson for three seasons showed a consistent amount of improvement. This includes the franchise records of 39 wins and 90 points in his final year. 

What do you think of Vegas' decision to hire Craig? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar