Stone's return date is unknown, however he will be sidelined for a minimum of ten games or 24 days. The Golden Knights have clearly taken the «Nikita Kucherov» method to avoid the NHL's salary cap by placing the captain's $9 million contract on LTR. This activates Eichel's $10 million contract.
Stone is unquestionably injured, having dealt with a back problem since the season began. Stone has had this injury since last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, according to McCrimmon. He's seen six specialists to try to repair it in time for the playoffs, of course.
That's why, as Chris Johnston explained on Insider Trading last night, opposing teams dislike Vegas' strategy. Last season, there was some anger with the Tampa Bay Lightning's cap movements, but it was fresh. Now teams respond:
«There was certainly some grumbling from rival teams. I think that's to be expected in a case like this when executives say that it makes a mockery of the system. But optics aside, I don't think there's a whole lot the National Hockey League can do in this case other than require documentation of a back injury to Golden Knights forward Mark Stone. It's a back injury that put him on the long-term injury reserve and sources insist it is a legitimate injury, so it won't be difficult for the Golden Knights to produce that kind of documentation.»
