Captain’s Comeback: Mark Stone never strayed far from Knights while injured

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | 2 a.m.

DALLAS — Mark Stone and Tomáš Hertl shared laughs as they pushed through a short stationary-bike exercise Monday night outside of the visitors’ locker room at American Airlines Center following the Golden Knights’ 4-3 Game 1 win over the Stars.

The two stars on the Golden Knights’ newly formed second forward line have been constant workout partners over the last month and a half, since Hertl arrived to Las Vegas via trade-deadline deal with San Jose. They rehabbed a pair of injuries — a lacerated spleen for Stone and loose knee cartilage for Hertl — together at City National Arena.

Most of those hours were spent as light-hearted and cheery as the pair were in the aftermath of their first game together, but not all of them. The two veteran stars also had serious conversations to get to know each other, and more than a few passionate hockey exchanges as they watched games.

“We had some debates too,” Stone said in his postgame news conference next to Hertl right before the two hopped on the bikes. “It’s awesome to have those types of discussions, but a lot of our theories aligned so that helps knowing you’re on the same page going into games.”

Hertl might have been his most frequent companion because of their simultaneous injured-reserve stints, but Stone went to length to stay on the same page as all his Golden Knights’ teammates while he recovered for two months.

Vegas’ longtime captain hoped his presence even while he wasn’t playing would cut down on the adjustment period when he returned to the ice. The chemistry between Stone and his teammates appeared to contribute to the first victory in the best-of-seven series, and now the Golden Knights will try to replicate it in Game 2 at 6:30 tonight.

“You try to put a smile on your face when you come to the rink but rehabbing sucks,” Stone said. “I don’t like doing it, but I love playing hockey so that’s why I come to the rink with a smile on my face and try to boost the group when they’re struggling and just be a part of it.”

Stone expressed great frustration in missing the end of the last three regular seasons with injuries. He bemoaned having, “played not even 100 games in the last three years,” and all but disqualifying himself from the 1,000 career-game milestone he hoped to one day reach.

But he put all the disappointment aside in order to try to be a better captain, a role he’s now held for four seasons. Current Stars coach Pete DeBoer ironically was the one to push for Stone to get the “C” on his chest while he was with the Golden Knights because of the leadership qualities he saw in his star player.

Stone’s commitment in that department has really blossomed as the years have gone on. He felt like he was away from the team too much in the 2021-2022 season — the lone time Vegas missed the playoffs in franchise history — after injuring his back midway through the year.

He's since sought to correct that mistake.

When Stone has gone down the last two years, he’s made sure to be around as much as possible during meetings and practices despite not being able to participate. Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Stone did “everything he could” both to expedite his recovery process and help his teammates this year.

“Coaches always have a plan,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Whether it works or not is always open to debate, but when it’s your peers you look up to giving you direction, your ears perk up. That’s just the way it is.”

Stone’s impact when he’s playing hardly ever fails to deliver, and that was the case again on Monday. He scored the team’s first goal on a power-play deflection, and then helped kill a penalty on the other end minutes later by clearing the puck midway through the Stars’ man advantage.

He did make one big mistake in the same first period, mishandling a puck that led to a Dallas goal by Jason Robertson, but some rustiness was to be expected. Overall, Stone played much better in his return game than he did a year ago at the start of the playoffs when the Golden Knights got blown out 5-1 by the Winnipeg Jets.

No one on the Golden Knights was mentioning Stone’s miscue after the game; they were just celebrating his big moment.

“I couldn’t be more happy for any guy but him,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “He’s been going through a lot of adversity the last few years and the fact that he comes back and has a big goal like that, it’s unbelievable to have a guy like that on your team especially as a leader.”

Not everyone is thrilled to see Stone back on the ice. In fact, most fans around the league are furious about it.

His inclusion on the playoff roster is controversial, with Vegas accused of circumventing the salary cap by putting him on long-term injured reserve in the regular season. There’s no spending limit in the playoffs, however, so Vegas didn’t break any rules unless Stone was medically cleared to play before the end of the regular season.

But the team and Stone himself say that was not the case, and that it truly came down to the wire for him just to play Monday.

Many aren’t buying it, including in the Dallas crowd where Stone drew boos every time he touched the puck in Monday’s game.

But Stone said no one on the outside witnessed his grueling recovery and distressing uncertainty about when he would be healthy.

It wasn’t easy to keep his head up through the whole process, but he found the strength to do so because he knew it was best for the team.

“He made a real conscious effort to be more involved in everything the team was doing,” McCrimmon said. “Obviously he didn't travel — that wouldn’t have been appropriate — but he was around the team a lot more this time I would say.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or