Vegas on the verge of making a blockbuster trade
The Vegas Golden Knights have officially placed captain, Mark Stone on Long-Term Injured Reserve and have created an additional $9.5 million in LTIR cap relief. Stone now joins Shea Weber, Robin Lehner, and Nolan Patrick on the LTIR.
The Golden Knights are in the thick of a very competitive battle for the Pacific Division crown as they currently hold down first place (72 points) ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (71 points) and Seattle Kraken (70 points). The Edmonton Oilers aren't far behind either with 68 points and the Calgary Flames are a distant 5th with 63.
Stone has been out of the lineup since since the 12th of January but has played 43 games to date with 17 goals and 38 points. The Golden Knights are in need of offensive reinforcements with Stone out of the lineup for the foreseeable future as head coach, Bruce Cassidy, mentioned how there's a good chance he won't return until playoffs.
Now that's where the LTIR comes in handy because once the post-season kicks off, the salary cap disappears and the Golden Knights - as well as any other NHL club - can welcome back any and all players without having to worry about being salary cap compliant since the salary cap is only in effect during the regular season.
With the additional $9.5 million to play with, Vegas could be in play for anyone ahead of the trade deadline as all eyes will be fixated on either Patrick Kane or Timo Meier. They might not possess the same level of prospects or draft capital as the New Jersey Devils to pry Meier out of San Jose but Patrick Kane seems like a very likely trade candidate with the asking price being substantially lower.
Chandler Stephenson leads the team with 48 points in 56 games, followed by Jack Eichel's 39 in 33, William Karlsson's 38 in 56, Reilly Smith's 38 in 56, Stone's 38 in 43, and Jonathan Marchessault's 36 in 50.
