Golden Knights preparing to pull a Tampa and exceed the salary cap by a staggering amount in the Playoffs

Unfortunately for the Golden Knights' captain, this was his second back surgery in the past 12 months as he underwent a lumbar discectomy in May of 2022. He played throughout the season with back pain and discomfort, evidenced by the fact that he only appeared in 37 games but still tallied 30 points.

This year he has scored 17 goals and 38 points through 43 games for a Golden Knights team that has been plagued with injuries and absences all season. Key players like Stone, Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, and Alex Pietrangelo have missed extended periods of time.

However, head coach, Bruce Cassidy is confident that the longer the Golden Knights can extend the season, the better the likelihood of a return for their captain. Vegas is in the thick of a tight playoff push in the Pacific Division where they currently hold the third spot but are also only one point behind second place Los Angeles and first place Seattle. The Edmonton Oilers - who occupy the top wild card spot - are 2 points back of Vegas and the Calgary Flames - who are on the outside looking in - are 5 back.

Every team listed with the exception of Los Angeles carries games in hand on the Golden Knights, so it is imperative that they come out of the All-Star break on fire as they've lost their last 4 games and more importantly their standing in the division.

He is most likely not returning at any point in the regular season so the loophole that is the LTIR will come in handy for the Golden Knights. They could become the first team to have $100 million on their payroll. Once he is eventually placed on the LTIR, he will be joining his fellow teammates in Shea Weber, Robin Lehner, Zach Whitecloud, and Nolan Patrick.

Vegas is expected to make some moves ahead of the trade deadline to keep themselves in the hunt for the playoffs so expect a decision on Stone's placement to happen sometime in the not-so-distant future.