Why Golden Knights Were Docked Early 2026 NHL Draft Pick as John Tortorella Fined $100K

The Vegas Golden Knights completed their second-round victory over the Anaheim Ducks with a 5-1 win in Thursday's Game 6, but it wasn't all good news for the franchise.

The NHL announced Friday it fined head coach John Tortorella $100,000 and docked the team a 2026 second-round draft pick because of "flagrant violations of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Media Regulations" after the game.

"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 league explained. "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."

Notably, Tortorella did not speak to the media in the aftermath of the win. The locker room also remained closed to the media.

Vegas released a statement after the ruling:

"The Golden Knights are aware of today's announcement from the NHL regarding the postgame media availability following Game 6 in Anaheim," the statement said. "The organization will have no further comment."

TSN noted that only forwards Brett Howden and Mitch Marner spoke at the podium in traditional postgame press conferences. What's more, forward Jack Eichel spoke to the TNT broadcast after the game.

On the ice, the Golden Knights finished the series with relative ease.

They scored three goals in the first period alone with Marner, Howden and Shea Theodore each finding the back of the net to set the tone. After Anaheim scored the only goal of the second period, Pavel Dorofeyev scored two goals to put the game away in the third.

Vegas will now face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. Game 1 is Wednesday in Colorado, and the series will eventually shift to Las Vegas for Sunday's Game 3.

The Avalanche won two of the three regular-season meetings between the teams, although one of those victories came via shootout.