Reports that Vegas players pushed to have Bruce Cassidy fired

Yesterday the Vegas Golden Knights rocked the hockey world by announcing that they had dismissed Stanley Cup winning coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with none other than veteran head coach John Tortorella.

Today, they man they call Torts met with the Vegas media for the first time where he laid out his plan for the team in their remaining 8 regular season games.

In short, his plan isn't to change much.

Torts confirmed that he won't make "many changes" to the team's strategies and roster makeup and that he consulted with Cassidy yesterday before arriving in Vegas.

"We're not going to make many changes," Tortorella told the media today. "I was texting Butchy (Cassidy) last night when I was flying in here to thank him for having the team the way it is right now. Just remember, the guy that left here is a pretty damn good coach. So I feel very fortunate coming into this situation."

So... if Torts doesn't plan on changing anything... what gives?

Why make this change so late in the season?

Well, reports are emerging out of Vegas that Cassidy's message wasn't sticking with his players anymore and that maybe the players even pushed to have Cassidy fired.

When asked if there were any truth to this, captain Mark Stone gave a surprisingly honest answer.

“It could be," Stone said when asked if Cassidy's voice had fallen flat. "For whatever reason, it just didn’t show in our play. There was some good hockey played at times, but I keep coming back to the emotion. It wasn’t there for whatever reason.”

GM Brad McCrimmon told the media that he did not consult any players prior to firing Cassidy, but there are rumors circulating that at least a few of the team's top players knew of the change before it became official.

What's interesting also is that Tortorella did say that the changes he plans on making have more to do with the team's psyche and less to do with the 'X's and O's' of coaching.

"I'm not going to upset and fill the players with information. I have a few points of emphasis that we'll go over as a team just about mindset and odds and ends," Tortorella said.

In a roundabout way, Torts called out his new team's mental state. It's clear that he's trying to get in their heads already and put some much needed pressure on them down the stretch.

"The biggest part of hockey now is not the X's and O's, it's your mind," Tortorella said. "That's a readiness. I'm sure they've been told a few times about their starts, and I'm sure you guys have written about it. We'll remind them but also respect them."

Torts and the new look Golden Knights get a chance to put their best foot forward tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, the NHL's worst team. The Torts Era in Vegas starts NOW.