John Tortorella apparently didn’t want anything to do with the media Thursday night.
On Friday, the NHL came down on the Golden Knights and their head coach — hard.
The league took away the team’s 2026 second-round pick and fined Tortorella $100,000 after he skipped a postgame press conference in the aftermath of securing a Western Conference final berth with a Game 6 win over the Ducks on Thursday.
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On top of skipping the presser, the team also kept the locker room closed to media members following the victory.
Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach John Tortorella behind his players during NHL hockey Game 6 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks played on May 14, 2026 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The NHL said in its statement that it had given Vegas “previous warnings” about violations of the media policy.
“National Hockey League announced today that, as a result of flagrant violations of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Media Regulations following Game 6 of their Second Round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, May 14, the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft,” the league said in its decision.
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Vegas can appeal the decision, which would come in the form of an in-person hearing in New York next week.
The Golden Knights said they were aware of the decision but would provide no further comment on the situation.
According to The Athletic, Vegas staffers said Thursday night that traffic in the Honda Center hallway as the team loaded up bags onto the team bus was the reason the locker room was closed off.
Three players did talk to the media — Mitch Marner and Brett Howden at a conference and Shea Theodore in a separate room.
Head coach John Tortorella (L) of the Vegas Golden Knights calls to his team during a timeout in Game One of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on May 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NHLI via Getty Images
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the team was frustrated over a one-game suspension that Brayden McNabb received for an interference penalty, which was the impetus for the almost-total media embargo.
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Tortorella, who has had more than a few contentious exchanges with reporters over the years, was hired as the Vegas head coach less than two months ago in the wake of Bruce Cassidy’s firing.
The penalties come at a time when the Golden Knights are gearing up for a Western Conference Finals trip to face the Avalanche.
Game 1 of that series starts on Wednesday.
