The NHL isn’t budging on the sanctions it dealt the Las Vegas Golden Knights for shirking its responsibilities with the media during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The punishment handed out by the league to the Knights for “flagrant violations” of the NHL’s postgame media policy during the postseason will remain as assessed after an appeal by the team, according to multiple reports on May 19.
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The NHL announced earlier this week the Knights had to forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and coach John Tortorella was fined $100,000 after the franchise didn’t open its locker room to reporters and Tortorella did not speak to the media at a postgame news conference after a Game 6 win over the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference semifinals.
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
The NHL is announcing the finalists for the Hart Trophy and the other major awards. Here’s who is in the running (listed alphabetically):
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
The NHL is announcing the finalists for the Hart Trophy and the other major awards. Here’s who is in the running (listed alphabetically):
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Jack Adams Award (coach) finalist: Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Jack Adams finalist: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Dan Muse
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Jack Adams finalist: Buffalo Sabres’ Lindy Ruff
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Vezina Trophy (goaltender) New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Vezina finalist: Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Vezina finalist: Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship) finalist: Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Lady Byng finalist: Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar.
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Lady Byng finalist: Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player) finalist: San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Ted Lindsay finalist: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Ted Lindsay finalist: Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton Trophy (perseverance) nominee: Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ville Husso
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Philadelphia Flyers left wing Garrett Wilson
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Anthony Mantha
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: San Jose Sharks goalie Laurent Brossoit
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Seattle Kraken right wing Jordan Eberle
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Akira Schmid
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin
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NHL awards finalists: Who’s up for 2025-26 regular season awards?
Masterton nominee: Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews
EASTERN CONFERENCE: Canadiens outlast Sabres in Game 7 OT thriller, move on to conference finals
The league said its sanctions came after previous warnings were issued to the Knights regarding their compliance with the league’s media policies. The team’s appeal hearing occurred May 19 in New York, according to the reports. Some players did speak from the podium after Game 6, according to ESPN.
The Knights said in a statement after the penalties were announced that the team would have no further comment on the matter. Tortorella also had no comment when asked about the controversy by reporters for the first time since the end of the conference semifinals on May 16.
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Tortorella took over as the the coach in Las Vegas after the franchise fired Bruce Cassidy in late March. The Knights open the Western Conference finals against the Colorado Avalanche on May 20.
The Knights were already without their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft after acquiring defenseman Noah Hanifin in 2024.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Las Vegas Golden Knights lose draft pick over NHL rules violation
