Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone to undergo back surgery

After deliberating in the weeks following the end of the NHL regular season, Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone has elected to undergo back surgery. As reported by Danny Webster of The Las Vegas Sun Tuesday, the procedure will take place Wednesday.

Stone, 30, first started dealing with the nagging injury as far back as the 2020-21 season, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. It led to multiple injury absences during the 2021-22 season that added up to 45 missed games during what was a cursed season for the Golden Knights, who had the sixth-most man games lost in the NHL and missed the playoffs for the first time in their five-season history.

Stone still amassed 30 points in the 37 games he could play and remained an elite defensive right winger, leading the NHL in 5-on-5 takeaways per 60 minutes, but he wasn’t fully himself. His 18:21 of average ice time was his lowest mark since 2014-15, his first full NHL season.

The hope is that Stone, the first and only captain in Golden Knights history, will be fully healthy and ready to play by 2022-23 training camp. He has four seasons remaining on an eight-year contract carrying a $9.5-million AAV.