General Manager Kelly McCrimmon, Head Coach John Tortorella, and The Golden Knights spoke to the media at Lenovo Center ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. Here's what Tortorella, McCrimmon and a few Golden Knights had during the 2026 Stanley Cup Media Day.
Head Coach John Tortorella on the Golden Knights’ mental toughness…
This team knows how to play. We change, just subtle little changes here and there. But to me, it was the mindset. When you have a group, a leadership group like we have in our locker room and some of the experience that we have that have gone through it, I think it just worked. We worked very quickly through it. It's them. It's not me or the coaching staff, it's them. We need to guide them a little bit at certain times when we think they're just getting off the road a little bit, but they handle themselves so well. That room self-sustains. That's why they're in the Final again this year. That's why they won it in 2023 and have been so successful. It's not coaches being in there; it's a room self-sustaining. We've got good people doing that.
Tortorella on Pavel Dorofeyev’s growth and focus on his game…
The puck follows him. As I've gotten to know him more and more, I appreciate him more and more as a player. I think he's really worked on his game away from the puck also. But on the power play, it just seems to find him. I've listened to some of his interviews after games, and I just like the way he handles himself. He's a hockey player. What he said a couple of weeks ago, it's my job. I think that's the way he thinks. A huge part of our team.
Tortorella on the group’s experience and will to win…
They know how to do it. They have experience. As this organization, since its inception, the amount of playoff hockey they've played and the amount of people that are in that room from 2023, they know how to do it. I think X's and O's are very important in today's game. Nothing is more important than a mindset, mental toughness, and a will if you need it in certain situations in the playoffs. Our guys get it. That's the major piece of the foundation that we have in the organization.
Kelly McCrimmon on Shea Theodore’s growth this season…
[Shea Theodore] has had a tremendous year. The thing that's interesting for me, you think you know a player after he's been in the league a number of years, and Shea's game this season has just added a completely different layer than what we were used to because he's always been a great puck mover, always been a very good offensive defenseman.
Jack Eichel on using playoff experience to the team’s advantage…
I think every year is different, and this experience is different in a lot of ways than it was in 2023, and things change year to year. You can draw from your experience a little bit, just knowing what to expect, having done it before, knowing what this is going to look like, and what the day before it kind of gets going looks like, and the things that come with playing in the Final. But I think every series and every season has its own story. So, trying to write that now.
Shea Theodore on what it took to get here and sharing this moment with his teammates…
It's definitely special. I think with the teams that we've had, we've been fortunate to go on some really long runs, and you have some growing pains along the way. Some tough losses at certain points throughout the playoffs, and it was special to be able to, in 2023, get it done and really come together. That feeling's great, and the number of us that are still left here kind of are still bringing that, and it's fun to see guys who it's their first Final, see the excitement. It's just it's fun to be back in this moment.
Mitch Marner on the trust and talent in the locker room…
I think you look at our team, you love all four lines, you love all three defensive pairs. You have trust in whoever's going over the boards with whatever's at stake or whatever needs to be done. It's been incredible to watch all four lines just go to work and really do their thing.
Marner on fulfilling his childhood dream…
I remember just sitting on the couch with my dad and my brother and just watching teams win the Stanley Cup and, in the early 2000s, just seeing them hoist it. At that point, I didn't know as many players as my dad, but obviously, just seeing some of the legends do it, it’s something that you dreamt of and something that you always wanted to do.
Tomas Hertl on getting another opportunity and soaking in the moment…
It's so awesome…You expected to be back, and during the journey, during the couple of good runs, you figure out how hard it is. When you're young, you just have a good time, enjoy it, and you're there. But now, when you play in the league for so long, every year is harder and harder. That's why I want to enjoy this moment and just do my best because like we've been talking about it, you never know if you're coming back and you have another chance, and when you have a chance, you just want to take it.
Noah Hanifin on how special this moment is for him…
It's such a big opportunity. It's such a special moment. It's a dream to play for the Stanley Cup, but to be in Carolina, it's pretty cool. This is where it all began for me, and it's definitely a bit of a full-circle moment to come back here and have an opportunity.
Carter Hart on Mark Stone’s leadership and instrumental role in the group…
I mean [Mark Stone] is awesome. He's a tremendous player. He's a great leader for our team. I think you see it in his game. He plays so hard and plays both ends of the ice super well. After every goal that he scores, whether it's maybe Game 2 of the regular season or Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, he celebrates like it's his last. You see just how much he cares about the game, about our team, and about our players, and he's a tremendous leader for our group.
Brett Howden on how skilled and inspirational William Karlsson is…
It's how good [William Karlsson] is on faceoffs, how good he is responsibly in the D-zone. He's always in the right spot. He's so good at reading the play and adjusting where he's going to be. A loose puck will pop out, and he's right there. He’s just somehow always kind of around the right area all the time, and he's a guy that, honestly, I learned a lot from.
Howden on his love of playing in Las Vegas and being around his team…
I've had the most fun years of my life playing here. You're coming to the rink every day to work hard, but it makes it even better when you're coming with the group that you really love being around. It says a lot about our team.
Cole Smith on what the Stanley Cup Final means to him…
It's everything. This is why we play the game. All the way growing up, like we said, ever since you're a kid, you dream of this. Just looking at it, at my age and stuff, you look back at all the years you play, and there are only so many opportunities you get to chase down a Stanley Cup, and to be here, it's really cool, and you have to take the most of it.
Brayden McNabb on John Tortorella’s impact on the group…
Torts wanted to get our swagger back. He unlocked some of us. I think you could say guys started playing a little bit more free. I think it took a little bit, but he's done a great job of freeing up some guys and bringing the best out of them.
