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John Tortorella was fined $100,000 by the NHL for missing a scheduled postgame news conference in Anaheim. The fine highlights the importance of accountability in coaching roles.
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John Tortorella was fined $100,000 by the NHL Friday for failing to appear at his scheduled postgame news conference Thursday in Anaheim.
(Steve Carp-The Sporting Tribune)
LAS VEGAS â When he got hired back on March 29, John Tortorella made it clear that this wasnât about him, that it was about the players on the Vegas Golden Knights and that he wanted to give them 100 percent of his energy and wisdom to get the team back on track.
Well, he did that and then some. The Knights are in the Western Conference Final against Colorado and they are halfway to a second Stanley Cup. He has delivered on his promise.
Unfortunately for him, Tortorella has become the story in the wake of Vegasâ second-round series-clinching win Thursday in Anaheim.
By refusing to show up at the planned postgame news conference as required by the NHL, Tortorella made himself the focus of the media coverage. Not Mitch Marner. Not Brett Howden. Not Pavel Dorofeyev. Not Carter Hart or Shea Theodore.
Torts.
Friday, the NHL fined the coach $100,000 for failing to meet his media obligations, which is kind of ironic in a weird sort of way given Tortorella came to Vegas from ESPN, where he served as a studio analyst on the networkâs NHL coverage. So he was essentially in the media himself.
John Tortorella was fined $100,000 for failing to appear at his scheduled postgame news conference.
The fine may affect team morale and Tortorella's relationship with the media as the Knights advance in the playoffs.
John Tortorella was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights on March 29.
The Vegas Golden Knights are in the Western Conference Final and are halfway to winning their second Stanley Cup.
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Also, the league made the team forfeit its second-round pick in this yearâs NHL Draft. Donât lose too much sleep over that one VGK fans. You know this teamâs history when it comes to draft picks. Whoever was going to be selected would more than likely eventually wind up being moved in some sort of trade by Kelly McCrimmon.
This is the result of the Knights failure to comply with the NHLâs policies when it comes to media responsibilities. Hereâs what the league said in its statement:
âThe imposition of these penalties comes after previous warnings were issued to the Club regarding their compliance with the Media Regulations and other associated policies.â
The Knights can appeal the decisions if they choose by coming to the league office in New York next week and meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman in person. Will they show up? Or will they simply take their punishment and move on?
The team issued a statement saying they acknowledged the decision from the league and that they would have no further comment. Itâs what you would expect them to say.
But back to Tortorella.
Weâve seen both sides of him during his brief tenure in Vegas. Weâve seen him be engaging, insightful, at times funny and informative. But since the playoffs began, weâve seen the other side â curt, combative, uncooperative and now, silent. He doesnât want to be asked about injuries, particularly Mark Stoneâs lower body malaise which he suffered in Game 3 against the Ducks. Donât ask him about why Keegan Kolesar is playing while Reilly Smith is sitting. Or why heâs juggling the lines or the defense pairings. You know, standard stuff every NHL coach gets asked on a daily basis.
Iâm not sure if itâs the pressure of the playoffs, the pressure of trying to make the interim tag changed to permanent, which for all we know, has already been agreed upon but not made public yet, or he has such a lack of respect for those that are assigned to cover the team that he doesnât give a you-know-what what we, or anyone else for that matter, thinks. This isn't his first rodeo when it comes to clashing with the league or those who cover it.
What precipitated Thursday? I wasnât there so I donât know. Someone said this was Tortorellaâs way of expressing his displeasure over the NHLâs Department of Player Safety suspending Brayden McNabb for one game after he KOâd Ryan Poehling in Game 5 Tuesday. Someone else thought it may have been because the Knights were trying to get to the airport in Long Beach to get on their charter flight back to Las Vegas following the series-clinching victory in Game 6.
Who knows where the truth lies? But I know one thing â Tortorella couldâve ripped the league publicly for the McNabb suspension and gotten away with far less of a fine than he got for failing to show up at a news conference at the Honda Center for a few minutes.
So moving on with the conference finals starting Wednesday in Denver, are we going to get the Tortorella who was engaging and, dare I say it â warm and even pleasant? Or will his surliness and combativeness get ratcheted up a notch, as if itâs the fault of those who cover the team that the NHL dinged him $100 grand?
It didnât have to get to this point. But as they like to say these days, here we are. I guess weâll find out in the coming days where all of this goes.