Just like last year, but also the year before, Vegas placed its captain Mark Stone on the long-term injured list before the transfer deadline. The Canadian forward had a torn spleen this year, his salary was not counted under the cap at the time, and the way for the Golden Knights to get significant reinforcements for the playoffs was opened.
Within a few days, they also brought in Noah Hanifin (Calgary), Anthony Mantha (Washington) and especially Tomáš Hertl (San Jose). Just before the end of the regular season, however, the club announced that Stone was returning to training. And on Tuesday night, he was ready for the first duel with the Stars, in which he opened the scoring in the 83rd second.
A number of critics accuse Vegas of knowingly circumventing the salary cap, but the general manager of the club, Kelly McCrimmon, calls all criticisms ridiculous.
“There has been a lot of speculation and innuendo about Stone’s injury. But the NHL is 100% involved in all situations involving long-term injured players. They have access to all information, health documentation. This makes the system fully legitimate,” McCrimmon assured.
“Obviously I’d like to play 82 games in the regular season,” said Stone, but he’s managed just 56 this season. “Now I want to put on my best performance,” added the 31-year-old Canadian, who was out last season since Jan. 13 with an injury stern. Nevertheless, he was prepared for the opening duel of the first round with Winnipeg, and in the meantime, the Golden Knights managed to acquire an important reinforcement of Ivan Barbašev. And it ended with the Stanley Cup.
Vegas is right about not doing anything against the rules. Teams can use the space gained by placing hockey players on the long-term injured list to acquire player replacements. Roughly half of NHL clubs were also over the salary cap at the end of last season. This year is nothing extraordinary either. But still, he points mainly to Vegas and his moves are questioned.
But the Golden Knights are not the first champions to exceed the salary cap. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov missed the entire 2020-21 regular season. But in the playoffs, he was the dominant and most productive player in the Lightning’s pursuit of the Cup. He had the critics completely hooked and took a picture with the Stanley Cup in a t-shirt with the words ’18 million over the ceiling’…
The current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the Players Association expires in two seasons. If the objections to the rule about long-term injured players are strong, it may not change until 2026.
So Vegas doesn’t have to worry. And Stone can hone his interplay with Hertl. “He looks like someone who really fits my game,” said the Vegas captain, who was booed heavily in Dallas. He also hit right away at the start of the series. Just like the Czech reinforcement.
