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3 former Canucks will help Golden Knights compete for Stanley Cup
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Photo credit: © Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
May 27, 2026, 14:15 EDT
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Three former members of the Vancouver Canucks are four wins away from getting their hands on the Stanley Cup.
John Tortorella, Nic Dowd and Ben Hutton are all part of the Vegas Golden Knights, who shocked the hockey world with a four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche to win the NHL’s Western Conference on Tuesday night.
The Knights hired Tortorella as a surprise replacement for Bruce Cassidy on March 30th and have delivered three playoff round victories and a 12-4 postseason record to this point. Tortorella, who turns 68 next month, is vying for his second Stanley Cup title as a head coach and his first in 22 years since he guided the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 championship.
He had not won a playoff game since the 2020 bubble and had not won a playoff series since his Columbus Blue Jackets stunned league-leading Tampa in 2019. Tortorella, of course, was fired after one season with the Canucks in 2013-14 and is best remembered in these parts for attempting to storm the Calgary Flames locker room in the first intermission of a fight-filled game. He was suspended for 15 days by the league for his antics.
Nic Dowd is looking for his first Stanley Cup ring. The 36-year-old (his birthday is Wednesday) was acquired by Vegas from Washington at the NHL trade deadline and appeared in 20 regular season games for the Golden Knights. He has suited up for all 16 of their playoff games, scoring three times and adding an assist. His helper came on Cole Smith’s series-clinching game-winner last night to eliminate the Avs. 
Dowd spent 40 games with the Canucks in the second half of the 2017-18 season. He scored three goals and failed to register any assists. He left Vancouver and joined the Washington Capitals the summer after they had captured the Stanley Cup.
As for Ben Hutton, the now 33-year-old is looking for his second Cup with the Knights. He was part of the team that won it all in 2023. Hutton has fallen into a depth role in Vegas and has appeared in just seven of the team’s 16 playoff games so far. He played in Game 1 of the series against Colorado, but has not played since. 
Hutton will get his name on the Stanley Cup for a second time if the Knights prevail. He dressed for 55 regular season games, which meets the threshold for a player to have his name engraved on the trophy. In 2023, the Golden Knights petitioned the league to have Hutton’s name added because he appeared in less than half the team’s regular season schedule and played just two playoff games – and none in the Final. 
Vegas will wait to face the winner of the Carolina-Montreal Eastern Conference Final. Because both the Hurricanes and Canadiens finished with more points than Vegas in the regular season, the Knights will open the Stanley Cup Final on the road.
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