The Vegas Golden Knights will be without captain Mark Stone for the rest of the regular season.
The team isn’t ready to rule him out for the playoffs, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be ready for Game 1.
They currently have him listed as questionable come April 22.
Stone suffered an upper-body injury during a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 20. He exited the game late in the second period, but never returned.
The Golden Knights initially considered him week-to-week, but he’ll now be out for at least the next seven weeks.
Sounds like #VGK Mark Stone is dealing with a lacerated spleen. Timeline is tough to pin down with an injury of that nature, but it’s obviously a significant one. https://t.co/ifFEKOGS41
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 22, 2024
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the nature of the injury (lacerated spleen). TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the extent of the injury (out for regular season).
The latest news means Stone is likely to land on the long-term injured reserve. Vegas will gain access to his $9.5 million cap hit, allowing them to explore their options on the trade market.
The team also has to account for Jack Eichel’s cap hit, as he’s set to return from LTIR in the coming days. When it’s all said and done, the team should have north of $5.5 million in cap space — more than enough to make a move.
???? JACK EICHEL IS SKATING ???? #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/k2Cw8QSnKB
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 27, 2024
But no matter what that move is, it won’t be enough to replace what they had in Stone.
Mark Stone finishes the regular season with 16 goals, 37 assists, and 53 points in 56 games played. He was on pace to set career highs in most categories, but those efforts will fall short.
Stay tuned for more.
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