Golden Knights face $100,000 fine, pick loss

The NHL said on May 15 that the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft and that coach John Tortorella was fined $100,000 after what the league called “flagrant violations” of playoff media rules. The sanctions followed Vegas’ 5-1 series-clinching win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the second round on May 14, according to the league. The NHL said previous warnings had already been issued to the club over compliance with media regulations and related policies. Vegas was offered the chance to appeal the penalties to the Commissioner’s Office, with an in-person hearing next week in New York, the league said. ### What exactly did the NHL punish Vegas for? The NHL’s May 15 statement tied the penalties to events after Game 6 against Anaheim on Thursday, May 14. The league said the violations came under the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Media Regulations. Multiple reports said Tortorella did not speak to reporters after the win and that the Golden Knights also did not make the locker room available to media. (nhl.com) Yahoo Sports and the Las Vegas Review-Journal both described the sanctions as stemming from skipped postgame media access after the Ducks series clincher. ### Was the team fined, or was Tortorella fined? John Tortorella was the person fined, not the club, according to the NHL’s statement. The league said Tortorella was fined $100,000, while the franchise penalty was the loss of a second-round pick in the 2026 draft. The NHL statement did not assign a dollar fine to the Golden Knights organization itself. (sports.yahoo.com) It said only that Vegas would forfeit the draft selection and that Tortorella would pay the $100,000 fine. ### How unusual is a draft-pick penalty for a media-access case? The second-round pick is the most significant part of the punishment because it reaches beyond a one-night fine and affects Vegas’ draft capital in 2026. (nhl.com) The NHL said the penalty followed “previous warnings” to the club, linking the severity of the sanction to repeated compliance issues. That connection is the league’s stated rationale; the NHL did not, in the statement reviewed, list the earlier incidents individually. The league’s wording matters here. The NHL described the conduct as “flagrant violations,” a phrase it used in announcing both the draft-pick forfeiture and Tortorella’s fine. ### What do we know about the game and the timing? Vegas advanced on May 14 with a 5-1 road win over Anaheim in Game 6 of the Western Conference second round, according to NHL and Associated Press reports. (nhl.com) The sanctions were announced the next day, May 15. The Golden Knights’ own team site showed postgame player media from May 15 and a Tortorella media clip dated May 16, after the penalty was announced. (nhl.com) The club site also listed the Western Conference Final matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. ### Can Vegas challenge the decision? The NHL said Vegas has been offered the opportunity to appeal the penalties to the Commissioner’s Office. (apnews.com) The league said that appeal would be held in person next week in New York. The statement did not say when a final appeal ruling would be issued. It also did not say that the draft-pick penalty or Tortorella fine had been stayed pending appeal. (nhl.com) ### What comes next for the Golden Knights on the ice? The Western Conference Final between Vegas and Colorado is scheduled to open on Wednesday, May 20, at Ball Arena in Denver, according to NHL schedule listings. (nhl.com) Game 2 is set for May 22, with Games 3 and 4 in Las Vegas on May 24 and May 26. Next week, the off-ice process runs through the Commissioner’s Office appeal in New York, while the on-ice schedule begins May 20 against the Avalanche. Those are the two named milestones the NHL and team schedule currently set out. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)