The Vegas Golden Knights face tough questions this summer, especially after missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history this spring. While money will be one of the biggest issues to handle this offseason, as Vegas is already roughly half a million over the limit with 18 players signed despite the cap ceiling set to rise to $82.5 million, it sounds like a more significant problem has landed in the Golden Knights’ lap… But it’s a back issue.
Vegas was dealt a slew of injuries this season, but the most worrisome one is what captain Mark Stone’s dealing with. The star forward missed a total of 45 games this season. He first struggled with the back injury in the 2020-21 postseason, and it was reported that Stone is dealing with back pain again. After missing time in March, he returned for the last few games in April for the playoff push, but it was too little too late for the captain and the Knights.
When asked by team insider Jesse Granger of The Athletic about the back injury, Stone did not sound reassuring about what it might mean to his career, seeing that the nagging injury has returned. Stone admitted that he is looking into more tests and research done to determine the appropriate action moving forward.
“I’m still researching everything,” Stone said. “I don’t want just one guy to give his opinion. I want to talk to five or six guys, and see where we go from here. And not just doctors. I want to talk to players who have been through similar situations and kind of hear their story and see where I can go from there. I don’t want to make just a rash decision and do a procedure that’s not going to help. I want to make sure that I’m doing something that’s going to benefit me not just for next year but for the five years that I have left on my contract, and I’ll hopefully sign a couple more after that.”
Like Stone isn’t considering hanging up the skates because of the injury, we know all too well how top players such as Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky suffered through back problems and, more recently, how Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan put an end to his career early due to degenerative disc disease in his lower back.
“I’ve talked to a few players around the league that have gone through similar situations as me,” Stone said. “Some that are still playing at 37 or 38 years old, and they were sitting on their couch at 30 thinking they were going to retire.”
If Stone is unable to return to that form, it would be the toughest blow to Vegas. Stone still has five years remaining on his contract at $9.5 million per season and you just know he not only wants to play through it, but also play as he usually does, giving his all.
But will his back hold out?
