The most surprising aspect of John Tortorella and the Golden Knights blowing off their media obligations after advancing to the Western Conference final was the NHL’s response.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, the Golden Knights PR staff informed the media they would not open the locker room — an obligation following every playoff game and practice as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players’ Association, the NHL and its 32 member clubs.
Mitch Marner and Brett Howden spoke in a press conference setting — in which the former said it could only last 10 minutes because Tortorella was going to leave them on the bus — and Shea Theodore was briefly available in a space outside the visiting dressing room.
Vegas cited congestion in the Honda Center hallway as the reason for breaching the CBA. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost been knocked over by a loaded hockey bag in a cramped visiting locker room, but everybody makes do because that’s part of the gig.)
