Golden Knights captain cleared for practice return after lengthy layoff

Vegas Golden Knights winger Mark Stone

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has been cleared to return to practice ahead of Friday’s morning skate, the team announced. He’s been out since sustaining a lacerated spleen on Feb. 20, missing nearly two months and the following 22 games.

Vegas moved Stone to standard injured reserve shortly after exiting the lineup and later to LTIR on March 4, a few days before the trade deadline. The increase in cap relief from Stone’s $9.5M cap hit allowed GM Kelly McCrimmon to go all out, picking up two of the best players on the market in defenseman Noah Hanifin and center Tomas Hertl, albeit both with significant salary retention from their former clubs.

This year marks the third straight campaign Stone has missed significant time – in fact, his 56 games before sustaining the spleen laceration this year were his most in a season since 2019-20. Back problems were the culprit for his absences over the past two years, including a surgery that sidelined him for the final 39 games of the 2022-23 regular season. He returned in time for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, looking refreshed as he tallied 11 goals in 24 points in 22 games en route to the franchise’s first championship.

Those back problems haven’t cost him any time this season, a promising sign as he still has three years remaining on his contract with a full no-move clause. The two-time Selke Trophy finalist has maintained his reputation as one of the best two-way wingers in the league, posting 16 goals and 53 points in 56 games this year while averaging 19:24 per game. His possession metrics took an uncharacteristic dip, though, failing to dominate shot attempts with a career-low 48.4 CF% at even strength. His 51.7 xGF% and +2.4 expected rating were also his worst since being traded to Vegas in 2019.

The Golden Knights haven’t confirmed Stone’s status for a potential Game 1 of a first-round series next weekend – they need to clinch a spot first, something they can do tonight if they exit their game against the Wild with more points than the Blues do against the Hurricanes. Still, a return to practice a week out paints positive signs for his ability to return at some point before the end of the month.

If he plays, he’ll do so in a new-look VGK top nine, bolstered by the additions of Hertl and Anthony Mantha further down the lineup. He’ll occupy his normal top-six right-wing role, either with Hertl or Jack Eichel at center.

Stone being cleared for game action prior to the final game of the regular season on April 18 would create unimaginable headaches for Vegas. There’s no realistic way for them to be cap-compliant with Stone activated from LTIR, as they’d need to remove more than $8.7M worth of cap hits from their active roster to reinstate him. Keeping him on LTIR if he’s truly able to return before Game 1 would likely spur a league investigation and could result in penalties for cap circumvention, which could include cap penalties for next season, forfeiture of draft picks at the league’s discretion and even the forfeiture of any games affected by their circumvention, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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