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On Thursday night, following the Montreal Canadiens' victory in Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres, the Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Anaheim Ducks in six games.
However, what caught everyone's attention wasn't the Golden Knights' victory, but rather the fact that the team and head coach John Tortorella were unavailable to the media.
In fact, no one showed up at the postgame press conference to speak with the media.
According to reports, the Golden Knights did not appear before the media because they were furious over Brayden McNabb's suspension for Game 6, following his violent hit in Game 5.
Brayden McNabb has been SUSPENDED for Game 6 as a result of this hit on Ryan Poehling during Game 5 pic.twitter.com/TX2qi1BDxb
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 13, 2026
This caused quite a stir, as it's highly unusual not to hear from the team that just won a series.
In the end, the NHL decided to punish the Golden Knights by fining John Tortorella ($100,000) and stripping the team of its second-round pick in the upcoming draft.
It's a massive penalty for what the NHL called a flagrant violation of the league's media policy.
Losing such a high draft pick is no small matter, but now it looks like the Golden Knights might get that pick back.
FWIW, I expect @GoldenKnights will get their 2nd-round pick back if they show some loyalty and travel to New York next week to meet with Bettman and Daly.
But the message has been sent and it's a good one: NHL popularity is surging. Freezing out coverage is counterintuitive. pic.twitter.com/dsdr9GugJD
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 15, 2026
Indeed, according to Greg Wyshynski's report, there is a possibility that Vegas could get its second-round pick back in 2026.
To do so, the team will need to demonstrate loyalty to the NHL and travel to New York next week for a meeting with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly.
The NHL would therefore be willing to reconsider its decision if the Golden Knights take the time to come explain themselves and potentially apologize.
So it really bears noting that the NHL prioritizes media availability to further boost the league's popularity.
In short, let's see if the Golden Knights show up in New York next week to potentially get their second-round pick back.
In Brief
– It continues this afternoon.
Victoire's first game in the LPHF finals | “It's going to be a big battle, it's going to be close” https://t.co/tEOSnWALII
— 98.5 Sports (@985Sports) May 16, 2026
– Very cool.
Some CH fans reached out to me this morning from Perth, Australia.
— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) May 16, 2026
– What a shame for them.
This is what an empty-net goal looks like in soccer. Poor Hearts, so close to their first Scottish title since 1960. It's even a longer drought than the Leafs'. https://t.co/ABMbAaHL3c
— Szymon Szemberg (@Sz1909_Szemberg) May 16, 2026
