Golden Knights forfeit 2026 NHL draft pick after declining to speak to media following Game 6 win vs. Ducks
In a press release, the league said that steep punishment was in response to the team's 'flagrant violations' of media policy, and also fined head coach John Tortorella $100,000.
The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t follow the league’s protocol after advancing to the Western Conference Finals — and it’s going to cost them. In a press release on Friday, the NHL announced that the Golden Knights would be forfeiting a 2026 second-round draft pick, citing “flagrant violations” of the league’s rules on postgame media. The @NHL sanctions @GoldenKnights for violations of media policies.
https://t. co/fhLS1o5cdf pic. twitter.
com/2cVgALtPLZ — NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) May 15, 2026 The move comes after most of Vegas declined to speak to media following the team’s Game 6 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. The Golden Knights defeated the Ducks 5-1 to complete the 4-2 series win and advance to the next round. Vegas reportedly did not open the dressing room to media after the game, and only had a few players speak to reporters in a side room or at the podium, via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger .
Head coach John Tortorella did not make himself available to media after the game, including a typical postgame press conference, and also did not join the handshake line, per The Sporting Tribune’s Zach Cavanagh . That behavior led the NHL to step in by taking away a draft pick, an unusually steep punishment for a policy violation. In the release, the NHL said that the franchise had been issued “previous warnings” about complying with media policies.