The Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit their second-round draft pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft after violating the NHL’s playoff media regulations, the NHL announced Friday.
Head coach John Tortorella also was assessed a fine of $100,000.
The penalties stemmed primarily from Tortorella declining to speak to the media after the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 in Game 6 last Thursday to advance to the Western Conference Final.
The Golden Knights also failed to make the locker room accessible to the media after the game.
The NHL labeled these violations as “flagrant” and disclosed in its announcement of the penalties that the Golden Knights organization had been warned previously.
“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’s statement said.
The Golden Knights were given the right to appeal the decision. As such, Vegas met with the league in person on Tuesday to dispute the penalties, but the NHL upheld its initial ruling on both the draft pick forfeiture and the fine.
Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon made a statement when he and Tortorella met with the media Tuesday afternoon.
“We missed a great opportunity [after Game 6] to connect with our fans and share with them a victory in a playoff series,” McCrimmon said. “I’ve always felt in a playoff series, when you win a series, you galvanize the bond with your fanbase. We missed that opportunity by not having John available to do postgame. That’s on John for failing to do that, that’s on me as a general manager of the hockey club. That’s not at the feet of our comms people, who made other arrangements with [the media] to accommodate the tight quarters in and around our dressing room postgame.”
McCrimmon added that the team did not have an “explanation other than to say we were wrong and to assure you that it will not happen again.”
The severity of the penalties doled out by the NHL has been widely debated, and the story as a whole has picked up quite a bit of steam.
Adding fuel to the fire has been Vegas’ decision to prevent teams from interviewing former head coach Bruce Cassidy, who was fired with eight games remaining in the regular season. Cassidy led the Golden Knights to their only Stanley Cup in franchise history and is still under contract with Vegas. That means the Golden Knights have every right to deny teams the ability to interview him.
McCrimmon said the Golden Knights’ “focus currently is on the Stanley Cup playoffs,” adding that he has spoken to Cassidy and that Cassidy “understands.”
However, the NHL Coaches’ Association released a statement on the matter.
“The NHLCA has been closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy,” the statement said. “While we respect the League’s rules and processes, it is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their Club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities.
“It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.”
The darker side of Vegas’ cutthroat approach to winning has generated plenty of media attention in recent days, but the Golden Knights are in the third round of the postseason for the fifth time in nine seasons and have a critical matchup against the Avalanche for which to prepare. Any distraction could be detrimental.
The Golden Knights were already without a first-round pick after using this year’s first in the Noah Hanifin deal. They also used their fourth-round pick in the Anthony Mantha deal with Washington. The Golden Knights still have selections in rounds three, five, six and seven.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights