NHL insider David Pagnotta said this week that Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone would like to remain with the team beyond this season. And all the extension talks have been pushed aside for now. 

Stone is now entering the final year of his contract and became eligible to sign an extension on July 1, but Vegas' tight salary cap situation has kept all kinds of conversations on hold.

Pagnotta talked about where things stand right now on the July 2 episode of the DFO Rundown.

"They're gonna get to talks with Mark Stone...they've kind of put that on the back burner for the time being; he loves it out in Vegas and would like to continue," he wrote in his tweet.

This is the last offseason during which players can sign eight-year extensions before new collective bargaining rules come in. They cut the maximum term to seven years, starting from next year.

That gives Vegas very little time if the team wants to lock up its captain on another deal, even while dealing with its limited cap space first.

Vegas now enters free agency with barely more than $3.5 million after extending defenseman Rasmus Andersson and forward Jonas Rondbjerg. They also placed Alex Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve. With so many setbacks right now, Stone’s extension might not happen anytime soon.

Stone has been Vegas' captain since 2020 and even helped the team win its first Stanley Cup in 2023. In this past season, he scored 73 points on 28 goals and 45 assists in 60 games, then added 9 more points in his first 10 playoff games before dealing with an injury.

He is now signed through 2026-27 for an eight-year, $76 million deal and is set to become a free agent in 2027 without a new contract. After seeing how well he's played in his last season, a new deal with Vegas still looks like the likely outcome for now.

Stone’s recent run disrupted through injury

Stone's situation looked more different once more details about his playoff injury came out. The General manager, Kelly McCrimmon, said after Vegas' Stanley Cup Final loss to Carolina that Stone had been playing with a torn adductor for most of the playoffs. The same injury that kept him out of the team’s lineup for five games.

In an article from KNTV.com, they explained in detail about the Knights' run through injuries. Stone wasn't the only player who got hurt.

McCrimmon also said forward William Karlsson needed surgery for a broken wrist, and defenseman Noah Hanifin played with an upper-body injury that kept him out for six to eight weeks in a normal season.

Finally, defenseman Brayden McNabb dealt with three separate injuries during the run.

"The stuff that guys battled through, I've never seen anything like it," Stone said after Game 6. "Guys never complained. They just put their gear on, go out there, and try to compete."

Vegas' run to the final was already a surprise. The team, under coach John Tortorella, fought through their injuries and finished as runner-up.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason