John Tortorella might be the most famous coach in the NHL. He also might be the most infamous.

Tortorella was hired Sunday as the coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, who fired coach Bruce Cassidy.

While Cassidy coached the Knights to their first Stanley Cup title, Tortorella has won a Cup as well and more than 700 games.

Then again, he’s also been suspended by the league four times.

There’s good and bad with his hiring. Here’s five things to know about the fourth coach in Knights history.

1. Hirings and firings

Tortorella has been hired — and fired — by five clubs.

He has seen highs (the first Stanley Cup championship in Tampa Bay in 2004) and lows (three first-round losses in four seasons in Columbus).

He has coached 1,620 games with a record of 770-648-37. All those wins show he’s doing something right.

Those victories also helped him become the first American-born NHL coach to win at least 500 games. The two-time Jack Adams Award winner is ninth on the league’s all-time victory list, 12 wins shy of Al Arbour.

Also, he was an assistant coach on Team USA, which last month won the gold medal at the Olympics.

2. Out of bounds

Tortorella can cross the line.

Like he did during 2014, his only season as coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He was suspended 15 days after he tried to enter the Calgary Flames’ locker room during the first intermission following a game-opening fight.

In Columbus, he was fined $20,000 for criticizing the referees in 2020 over an overtime-clock issue. He was dinged another $25,000 eight months later during the playoffs bubble for criticizing the refs.

And two years ago, he berated two referees after a game, getting a $50,000 fine and two-game suspension. He also received a one-game suspension during the 2009 playoffs for trying to fight fans in Washington.

3. No No. 1 goalie

The only time Tortorella has gone with a main goaltender was his time coaching the New York Rangers (2008 to 2013), when Henrik Lundqvist was the primary netminder.

In his other stops (Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Columbus and Philadelphia), there’s been no clear-cut No. 1 goalie. He also famously sat Vancouver’s Robert Luongo in the 2014 Heritage Classic.

Who knows how this bodes for Knights’ No. 1 goalie Adin Hill.

4. Check the locker room

Get ready for eventful news conferences.

Tortorella is known for calling out players during news conferences. For some players, that’s motivation. For others, it’s time to leave.

While Cassidy was known as a players’ coach, Tortorella’s reputation includes tough practices and unpredictable schedules.

Tortorella’s players in Vancouver complained about a lack of consistent practice time, especially when he reportedly would leave assistant coaches to run practices without him.

5. Speaking of news conferences

Tortorella has a reputation for battling with the media. Ask a question he doesn’t like and he could give you an earful or a cold stare.

There’s even YouTube videos of him belittling media members for the quality of their questions.

While reporters might not get sympathy from fans, it almost seems as if Tortorella relishes his relationship with the media.

Bill Bradley is Sports Editor at the Review-Journal. Contact bbradley@reviewjournal. Follow on X at @billbradleyLV.

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