Golden Knights captain undergoes back surgery again
The Golden Knights captain won’t be returning to the lineup anytime soon.
Right wing Mark Stone had “successful” back surgery Tuesday, the team announced. The Knights said Stone will be out “indefinitely but is expected to make a full recovery.”
This is Stone’s second back procedure in nine months.
He had a lumbar discectomy, designed to fix a disk in the lower back, May 19 at Cedars Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital in Marina del Rey, California.
His latest operation was performed by Dr. Chad Prusmack in Denver.
He also performed center Jack Eichel’s artificial disk replacement surgery Nov. 12, 2021.
Stone’s back injury caused him to miss 45 games last season.
He started training camp this season in a no-contact jersey, but was a full participant in workouts well before the Knights’ Oct. 11 opener.
He didn’t miss a game until getting injured in the first period Jan. 12 against Florida.
The Knights said Stone tried to rehab soon after but suffered a setback. It was then decided surgery was the best option.
Stone’s injury leaves a large hole in the team’s lineup.
He remains one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL when healthy. He’s the Knights’ second-leading scorer with 38 points in 43 games.
He’s also a team-best plus-12 at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.
The Knights are 1-5-2 in the eight games since Stone was injured and have scored 16 goals.
The team, one point behind first-place Seattle in the Pacific Division standings with two extra games played, will have to decide how to proceed without Stone.
Placing him on long-term injured reserve would give the Knights more cap flexibility before the NHL’s March 3 trade deadline.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
