The Las Vegas Golden Knights were looking to make another long run in the playoffs this season, with hopes of becoming back-to-back champions. However, after a sluggish end to the regular season, the Knights were unable to pick it up in the playoffs and ended up being bounced by the Dallas Stars in the first round.
After elimination, Knights captain Mark Stone talked to the media, sharing his disappointment in his team's performance near the end of the regular season, hoping that they would have gotten into a better position before the playoffs started.
This comment comes after Stone and the Knights have been widely criticized for their use of LTIR to avoid the salary cap, and essentially paid the price for having their best player sit out since February. Now, some are speculating that Stone has significantly hurt his reputation as a hockey player.
If the Golden Knights had of gone all the way to the Cup finals again this season, people would be calling for significant rule changes regarding the Cap. However, it looks like maybe their strategy of putting their best guy on LTIR didn't work out this year, and they will have to rethink it moving forward.
As seen on Blade Of Steel - Mark Stone unhappy with how his team handled the regular season
POLL | ||
MAI 6 | 206 ANSWERS Mark Stone fires shots at his teammates for their poor performance Do you think Mark Stone and the Vegas Golden Knights will rethink their LTIR strategy? | ||
Yes | 78 | 37.9 % |
No | 128 | 62.1 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Brandon Hagel | - | 5 | 5 | |
Sebastian Aho | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Nico Hischier | 3 | - | 3 | |
Macklin Celebrini | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Seth Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Zachary Bolduc | 2 | - | 2 | |
Will Cuylle | 2 | - | 2 | |
Lars Eller | 2 | - | 2 | |
Jake Guentzel | 2 | - | 2 | |
Alex Iafallo | 2 | - | 2 | |
Ivan Ivan | 2 | - | 2 | |
Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Simon Edvinsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Miro Heiskanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 22 | 18 | 4 | - | 36 | |
Devils | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 31 | |
Wild | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 30 | |
Golden Knights | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 30 | |
Capitals | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 29 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 20 | 13 | 7 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Conference | Cumulative |