This year, the team made some serious moves thanks to an extra 9.5 million dollars of cap space the team gained by putting Mark Stone on LTIR. It is the second year in a row the team's captain has been injured at the trade deadline. This time, the team took advantage by adding Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, and Anthony Mantha.
Individually, any of these moves would have made the Golden Knights a much better team. Collectively, they make the team a true powerhouse, especially if Stone is ready to return close to the start of the playoffs. Today, general manager Kelly McCrimmon addressed the captain's status.
McCrimmon appeared to be quite annoyed that he had to address Stone's status publicly. No one was forcing him to do so, but the rumors about the team circumventing the cap was applying pressure to the organization. He Emphatically declared that Stone's injury is real and that he will genuinely be out for the remainder of the regular season.
McCrimmon does have a good point. The NHL is surely keeping a close eye on the Knights, especially considering the public pressure to scrutinize the team's LTIR use. Perhaps this just shows that the league needs to change how LTIR works but that is a conversation for another day.
