Tortorella Blows Off Media After VGK’s Series-Clinching Win, Then NHL Hits Golden Knights With Media Availability Violations: Team Forfeits Second Round Pick, Tortorella Fined $100,000

By Alan Snel, LVsportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — VGK coach John Tortorella blew off the media after the Vegas Golden Knights’ series-clinching 5-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks in SoCal Thursday night.

Then Friday the National Hockey League slammed the Golden Knights and Tortorella with “flagrant penalties” for playoff media regulation violations, causing an embarrassing PR mess to blow up that now overshadows a superb Game 6 performance by the Golden Knights.

The VGK win featured Mitch Marner’s highlight-reel goal, Pavel Dorofeyev’s two third period goals and goalie Carter Hart’s rock-solid play between the pipes as Vegas knocked out a talented upstart Anaheim squad, four games to two, in the Best-of-7 Round 2 matchup of division foes. Vegas now plays Colorado in the Western Conference Final starting Wednesday in Denver.

The veteran 67-year-old Tortorella, known for scuffling with the media through his more than two decades of NHL coaching, was a media no-show after the Thursday win.

As a result, Vegas will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, while Tortorella was fined $100,000 by the league.

In a NHL statement sent to media 1:45 PM Vegas time, the league wrote, “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.

“Vegas has been offered the opportunity to appeal these penalties to the Commissioner’s Office. That appeal would be held in person next week in New York.”

There were media members who wrote that Tortorella missed the required media availability because the Golden Knights had to catch a plane to Las Vegas or it was team’s retaliation against the NHL for suspending defenseman Brayden McNabb for Game 6 after McNabb drew a major penalty for smashing a Ducks player into the boards in the first period.

For the record, the team offered neither an explanation about why Tortorella failed to meet the media after the game nor a comment about the NHL’s resulting penalties.

The players union labor agreement with the league outlines media availability guidelines for teams.

Tortorella sometimes does not seem to enjoy answering media questions, including even those posed by people who work for the Golden Knights. Sometimes he just declines to answer and likes to say it’s a player’s game.

The man known as “Torts” has a much different style to dealing with the media than former coach Bruce Cassidy, who went into more detail with his answers and did not decline to answer questions like Tortorella does.  Tortorella replaced Cassidy with eight games left on the VGK schedule. Torts went 7-0-1 during the regular season and defeated both Utah and Anaheim in six games each in the playoffs, compiling an 8-4 record in the postseason.

Unfortunately, Tortorella’s actions of not appearing before the media after an impressive VGK win took the spotlight away from the players and shifted it to him today.

The Knights play the Colorado Avalanche in Denver Wednesday and Friday before the series moves to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4 Sunday and Tuesday.

Here’s the 2026 Western Conference Final Schedule (All times Vegas Time):

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