The playoffs are approaching, and here’s some welcome news for the Vegas Golden Knights: Captain Mark Stone has been cleared to take part in practices and is looking set to play in the first round of the playoffs.
He continues to recover from a lacerated spleen, and he has not played since a game against the Nashville Predators on February 20.
Mark Stone practiced with a non-contact jersey on Friday, and although an official timetable for his return to the lineup hasn’t been set, he is believed to play in the first round.
And it’s not the first time this has happened.
Last year, Mark Stone returned to the lineup just in time for the playoffs. Heo only played 43 games in the regular season but played all 22 in the postseason to lead Vegas to their first-ever Stanley Cup.
This year, Stone has 16 goals and 53 points in 56 games. However, his return to the team has not landed well with the rest of the NHL’s fanbase.
The Vegas Golden Knights made some big signings before trade deadline, and have been slammed for circumventing the salary cap rules.
The salary cap is only in play during the regular season, so if a player is on LTIR, he can return to the playoffs without affecting the team’s salary cap.
Although it’s not the first time we’ve seen this in the NHL—the Lightning was $18 million over the cap before they allowed Nikita Kucherov to spend the entire season on LTIR before winning one Cup—fans are growing tired of teams, in this instance Vegas, cheating the system.
And when fans learned about Stone’s very expected return to practice, just in time for the playoffs, they all said the same thing about it.
On Hockey Reddit, a classic meme of a wrestler showing up in a wheelchair and unveiling a fake cast over his leg made the rounds.
”See you back next year same time same meme,” one user said.
”Mark stone might be the only player in history with as many playoff games as regular season games,” another said.
”Make players have to be activated before the 82nd game from LTIR to play in the playoffs. This is the easiest solution,” a third added.
