Over the past few days, the fairy tale ending of Mark Stone's playoff run with the Golden Knights finished with a bang. Stone was instrumental in the crushing 9 to three defeat of the Florida Panthers in Game 5. He also captured a hat trick during that game which I feel would be one of the best feelings an NHL player could have.
Even though this is a time of celebration, there has been a looming problem nagging the Golden Knights star all season and well before that. As most fans know, he has been suffering from lower back pain for a long time and has had two back surgeries to correct the problem.
Recently, 32 Thoughts podcaster and NHL insider Elliotte Friedman that Stone's career is in jeopardy and, likely, he may not finish.
The 31-year-old centerman holds a $9.5 million cap hit that extends till 2026-2027. If Stone cannot play, his cap hit will be in LTIR. That will help the Vegas Knights game more cap relief if they choose to get another player to replace him.
