While the Vegas Golden Knights did advance to the Western Conference Final, they will not be doing so without a little bit of controversy.
On Friday, the NHL ruled that the Golden Knights will lose their second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft due to what the league considers as “flagrant violations” of the league’s media policy.
Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella was also fined $100,000, per the league’s ruling.
“The imposition of these penalties comes after previous warnings were issued to the Club regarding their compliance with the Media Regulations and other associated policies,” the NHL said in a released statement.
The Golden Knights released their own statement saying that they were aware of the announcement and declined to comment on the matter at this time.
The decision comes after Tortorella did not make himself open to postgame media availabilities after the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 in Game Six on Thursday. The Golden Knights locker room was also not open for player availabilities.
Mitch Marner and Brett Howden were available to the media after Game Six, to which the former said that they only had ten minutes to answer questions before they had to depart for the bus that would take them to the airport prior to the press conference. Shea Theodore was also available for comment in a separate room from the visiting dressing room at Honda Center.
This is not the first time the Golden Knights have canceled Tortorella’s media availability, as they did so the day before Game Three of the team’s first round series against the Utah Mammoth.
It is also the latest in what has been a contentious relationship between Tortorella and both the media and the league. In August 2020, the veteran head coach was fined $25,000 as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets when he only answered two questions in a virtual conference before walking out. Tortorella was also fined $20,000 in January 2020 after making comments criticizing the officiating at that year’s Winter Classic, while being fined $50,000 and suspended for two games as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers for what the league considered unprofessional conduct towards the officiating crew in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Golden Knights will conduct an in-person appeal to the Commisioner’s Office in New York.