Mark Stone Undergoes Back Surgery
Not great! It’s happened again. Mark Stone is suffering from more back issues. The Vegas Golden Knights captain has undergone another back surgery and has been ruled out indefinitely. The good news is that Stone is expected to make a full recovery. That this was the best possible path to getting Stone back on the ice.
VIA NHL.com:
“Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone underwent successful back surgery on Tuesday, January 31. He will be out of the lineup indefinitely but is expected to make a full recovery.”
“The surgery was performed by Dr. Chad Prusmack in Denver, CO. Stone suffered the injury January 12 and began rehabilitation work shortly thereafter. After a setback, it was determined that surgery was the best course of action.”
This sucks. No other way to put it. Stone is the heartbeat of the VGK. They’re just not the same hockey team without him.
Stone, 30, will likely be placed on LTIR for the remainder of the season. The real question now is if Vegas can get Stone back for the postseason. That part remains to be seen. However, it would give him around three months or so to get back on the ice.
Slotting Stone on LTIR opens up $9.5 million in cap space. Will the Knights make a trade to try to upgrade the club in his absence? They may have to if they want to make the playoffs. Stone’s last game came on January 12th. Since that time Vegas is 1-5-2. The record speaks for itself. He’s that important.
The good news is the last time Stone had back surgery, Stone came back strong as predicted. To start the year, Stone notched 38 points in 43 games with very strong underlying numbers.
