The captain of the Vegas Golden Knights, Mark Stone, and one of the NHL's top forwards, addressed retirement speculation right after the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in June 2026, and he made it clear that he has no plans to walk away from the sport. 

His persistent injury history fueled speculation about whether his body would be able to hold up at such a level. He had back and lumbar pain, which required surgery. Stone also had problems with his wrist and lower-body ailments throughout his career. 

When speaking to The Athletic's Jesse Granger, he said, "I feel good. I want to keep playing as long as I can. I know there's been a lot of talk about me cutting it down, but I have no intentions of that. I'm going to keep playing until I'm ready to call it. And I'm not ready to call it."

It was first brought up by Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos publicly, suggesting some people believed Stone might be in a situation similar to teammate Alex Pietrangelo. Alex’s body had broken down enough that he had been away from the game since last summer.

This placed Pietrangelo on long-term injury reserve. This gave Vegas $8.8 million in cap relief, and then the discussion about whether Stone could follow a similar path rose. If that happens, this would free up another $9.5 million. 

Stone missed a big amount of time during the 2025-26 season and playoffs due to injury. He scored 73 points on 28 goals and made 45 assists across 60 regular-season games, which was his career-best pace.

Even in the playoffs, he made 10 more points in 11 games before a lower-body injury affected him. This was in the second round against the Anaheim Ducks, and he had to be sidelined.

Vegas won that series without him and moved on into the Western Conference Final, where Stone then returned. 

A Season That Showcased His Value

Stone's run in the 2025-26 season almost produced a career-best rate. He contributed on both ends of the ice and carried the pace into the captaincy. All this through a difficult season that included a coaching change and multiple injury setbacks in the roster.

In 129 career postseason games, Stone has scored 97 points, with his best run in 2023 when he made 24 points in 22 games. And Vegas went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Stone has one more year left in his contract with a $9.5 million cap hit. This means the 2026-27 season will be his last under his current terms. 

For now, Stone's message cleared up that all the retirement talk was simply not true and that he wants to keep going until he can.

Read more at NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Ankita Yadav