(Photo Credit: Jason Pothier, SinBin.vegas)
The Golden Knights have had a not-so-memorable offseason. The roster has changed dramatically and devastating injury news continues popping up week after week. A lot of it seems to stem from miscommunication between various parties.
Earlier this week, NHL.com reported that Mark Stone would shockingly miss all of training camp. The reporter was quoting from her conversations with Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and head coach Bruce Cassidy. One or the other likely unintentionally let too much slip out in his interview with Spiegel. Later in the day, the reporter tweeted the team had clarified some of the comments.
Update regarding Mark Stone’s status as there was a miscommunication regarding his availability for training camp.
A team source confirmed Stone’s availability at the start of camp is now questionable but he is expected to participate at some point. https://t.co/Rh9nxR0A0a
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) August 29, 2022
While the organization cleaned up some comments they never offered a concrete response to Stone’s training camp expectancy. “Availability is questionable,” is not a full response, and McCrimmon’s comments in his press availability left plenty of room for a timeline on Stone’s return. Vague information leads to speculation from the fanbase and they’ve done enough of that. From all accounts, Stone was on track to attend training camp on time with the rest of his teammates. That’s what the Golden Knights captain implied on NHL radio earlier this summer.
I’m battling a pretty bad back and ended up getting a discectomy and should be ready to go first day of training camp. – Mark Stone on NHL Network Radio in June 2022
Fans are hoping Stone’s optimism is more accurate than the information reported on Monday. However, some are realizing how missing any amount of time will stunt the growth between the captain and Eichel. Let’s not forget Stone will need to acclimate himself to coach Bruce Cassidy’s preferred system as well.
What’s most bothersome about the constant miscommunication is it’s beginning to shape the Golden Knights’ roster. Learning about Lehner’s season-ending surgery so late in the offseason potentially impacted front office decisions. Had they had the information while the market was open Vegas might have acquired an established starting goaltender. That type of misconception left the team worse in net.
Go back a bit further and there was a miscommunication between VGK and Marc-Andre Fleury over ending his career in Las Vegas. SinBin.vegas sources indicate something similar happened to Paul Stastny. Both were free agents this summer. Each signed for fairly inexpensive deals. Neither came back to Vegas. It’s a bit of a leap to say communication issues are the only reason Fleury nor Stastny will suit up for the Golden Knights this year, but there’s no doubt it at least played a part.
Hopefully, the latest example of miscommunication is the last of the offseason. The Golden Knights cannot afford any more distractions or more importantly, injuries before camp begins later this fall.
Emmanuel
Why bring back older retreads?
If they make it to (at least) the second round all this ticky-tacky stuff will be forgotten.
Carl
All indicators point to an endpoint known as:
“We’re f*cked.”
Tim
It’s all about selling tickets and if Stones out that doesn’t help sales so keep it hush hush. I’m no doctor but back issues in hockey could be devastating the way everyone gets banded around. The good news is they’ll have another 9 million to play with if he’s long tern out. What other secrets are they keeping from us?
THE hockey God
anyone who has dealt with back issues knows that is has nothing at all do to with fucking “miscommunication” by mob media misfits
or with selling tickets.
Backs are fickle, players are eternally optimistic. But media as usual is clueless, as are most the unsophisticated VGG fan base who happens to believer whatever pablum unknown media dufus hipsters I ;m looking at this nobody speigel person.
Did someone let Emily Kaplan back in the building?
Too bad the old school network of good old boys who really know the score has been diminished at the hands of these know nothing, unqualified diversity misfits. Real man should have these jobs, not people talking away their jobs in order to meet the woke foke bull shit. No wonder all the homeless in the streets are men.
Our society is suffering.
hdbiker7851
THg – the only clueless poster on this site is you – we all know if their (FO, politicians etc) lips are moving, they are lying – that doesn’t make them clueless it just makes them stupid – think about that before you post. No response needed or necessary.
the hockey God
hd , says someone who is clueless on anything hockey and never had to deal with a back issue
as usual, you spin and put words in my post that aren’t there.
you are fucked with your cluelessness,, have a cookie, hint, it goes in the mouth, not the other end. Normal people would know that, but in your case, instruction is probably needed.
Hdbiker7851
Your wrong on both accounts hockey and back issues. I was referring your remarks concerning reporters who often are right if not totally correct. They have reported on many issues concerning the vgk that have turned out to be the case.
the hockey God
never heard of these misinformed “reporters”, inexperienced misfits that shit bin pulls out of hat to try and stir pot. Spiegel ?? Emily kaplan, couldn’t carry water for real reporters. Never played a game, can’t even communicate without getting their panties all wet and bent out of shape.
TS
thg: NASTY, DUDE. JUST STOP. BE A GROWN-UP. HOW OLD ARE YOU, ANYWAY??
Roberto
The lack of transparent communications is not helpful, but ticket sales, sponsorships and even gambling ($$$) are all part of the calculus. There is no benefit to VGK in being fully honest and open about anything. Not fun for fans, but not ever gonna change.
For Stone, his back surgeon was Rob Gronkowski’s. Gronk is a probably not completely human, but he came back from three back procedures and dominated in a sport far more violent than hockey. All violence props to hockey, but YouTube Earl Thomas’s hit on Gronk. Good God.
Again with the no transparency (outside of ‘Doctor’ Frank Seravalli, MD?), it would seem Stone’s had this issue for a while. Phil Danault is legit, but Stone getting aced vs. Montreal seemed suspicious. Hopefully what was done for his back is given proper time to heal, and he gets back to normal. Old age won’t be fun for him, but probably not going to be fun for any of us either.
As for the homeless tangential, there is a new schizophrenia drug, KarTX that’s done really well in trials and is close to mainstreaming. Important here, as so many on the streets don’t have broken backs, but broken minds. And the drugs to treat them leave a lot of room for those who take them to want to stop. Idea here is that, if these drugs get taken, we keep people from ending up on the streets, and maybe get some of them off them.
Larger Issue 2.0 – would be great if we could all work together to find solutions to homelessness. Unfortunately, it’s seen as a urban problem, and your side of the aisle likes having it around to point at the ‘failures of the left,’ as its root cause. Will concede my side is a bit too tree huggy about it, too. Remediating the reality of people walking around in their own filth should be a bipartisan issue, and tackled aggressively, but it ain’t, so off we go.
the hockey God
LA has this new sixth street bridge to, well skid row., they toss out drugs
to homeless people, and police keep closing the bridge to skid row because it’s another liberal socal failed experiment. Gavnor Newsome is a fucking joke.
it’s really quite sad,
homelessness started when then allowed women in work place, in the fifties, when it was a man’s world. It was unheard of. It’s been going down hill ever since.
i remember when they used to bus homeless to Yuma, trouble is they kept coming back.
Abbot is busing illegals to NYC and DC, and the liberals there are now having a fit. Seems like they only like to fuck with other people, but when it comes home to kick them in the butt their hypocrisy runs abound.
liberalism = mental disorder.
Wayne Gretzky
Then you MUST be a liberal. Either that or your just owned by them.
Tim
THG, Of coarse if Stone is out it will hurt ticket sales in any sport people come to watch the stars.
the hockey God
anyone buying tickets based upon someone who scored, what two goals last year? Has back surgery, and is not likely ever to be 100% has ROCKS FOR BRAINS
most unsophisticated fan base in history, Ian’s words, not mine.
Aethena
People with boobs watch hockey. People with boobs play hockey. We are going to take over this sport. In the mean time. This fan with boobs understands what it’s like to have back problems, torn ACLs, separated shoulders, a torn hip labrum, and broken bones. I know what it’s like to be a dedicated athlete. I don’t need a reporter to tell me what Stone’s status is. I’ve lived it. I will wait til he’s back to be excited about his return. Vegas is a fantasy team on par with the New York Yankees. There is no miscommunication only willful ignorance.
There is a difference between being part of a minority group and being clueless about a sport. Venting about reporters and chirping about minority groups is fine if you are with your buddies in a dive bar with loud music where no one can over hear you. In this forum it’s rude.
TS
Athena, AGREED!! You GO, girl!!!!
Jailbird
Absolutely Aethena!
Knightnite
Women are not a minority in the US FYI.
the hockey God
i be jammin in Huntinton Beach on labor day, look for big RV and bongo drums cranking to when the levee breaks – led zeppelin , for starters. Look for all beach babes, surfer chicks, vball girls, old guy rules, beach pits BBQ, come down , say hello, have a brewski. From Dusk until, when the police say enough !! it;ll be regular blast !
btw
i am still waiting.
the hockey God
i’m beginning to warm up
If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break
If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break
When the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to stay
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, Lord
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
It’s got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home
Oh well, oh well, oh well
Don’t it make you feel bad
When you’re tryin’ to find your way home
You don’t know which way to go?
If you’re goin’ down south
They got no work to do
If you’re going down to Chicago
A-ah, a-ah, a-ah
Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good
No, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move, ooh
All last night sat on the levee and moaned
All last night sat on the levee and moaned
Thinkin’ ’bout my baby and my happy home
Tim
Surf City works for me. I was a realtor for 20 years in Vegas and California and lived in Huntington Beach two weeks out of a month for years 5 minutes from the beach.
the hockey god
i have a brewski waiting for you broheim or is is poindexter?
Kenny
Man am I happy Doc and the boys are coming back in a few days. Won’t have to wade thru this BS political nonsense! What a joke this place is!
Real Hockey God
THG You are a real tool. I love hockey and the boys club of hockey destroyed hockey. I’ll give a fucking dog a job before most of them clowns. I’m not even sure it’s considered one of the 4 major sports any more! It might be better if a female ran the whole damn show.
the hockey God
“It might be better if a female ran the whole damn show.” where have you been the last few decades? Hiding under a rock, have you seen gary bettman, he the guy wearing the panty hose, single handedly ruined NHL??????. And he’s a girl !!!
Blitz
You gonna touch each others privates? Give each other some mouth hugs. Your infatuation with Doc is creepy.
Funny thing when Doc “left” this site he talked exactly like you are now. Strange coincidence or just the same dip shit under a different name. Hmmm…
the hockey God
blitz is right, doc was the epitome of political trash talking, and he didn’t even realize he was a liberal !!! That is case with most of those idiots. Brainwashed since the cradle.
Kenny
And just who are YOU? You sound like a jealous little bitch! Hmmm
Blitz
Deflected, but not denied, as expected.
Kenny
Also, I have counted at least a half dozen others that say the same things about you guys and this place. Must be a bunch of Docs on here! Hmmmmm
TS
Oh boy. Please, PLEASE get us to October…….
Jailbird
Amen to that TS !
THE CURSE
Why do any of you bother talking with someone as lost as THG? He is far from a “God”, and much closer to hell than heaven.
He is a loser, whom has found a place to get attention and destroy a place where people can freely voice a thought about a team we do (or once did) care about.
Arrogant, dumb, and crude… Just like the loser Trump he sold his soul for! Nothing worse than getting duped by a con man… But the ignorance and stupidity to stay the course clearly shows the capacity, ,or rather the lack of capacity of the 35% he worships with.
My experience in dealing with the like is to simply ignore all they say… When their cries for attention get nothing… They become the NOTHING they have proven they are.
TS
The Curse: BRAVO! Many here are more than a little annoyed at the CULT Bullshit the guy pushes on this site. Wonder why he doesn’t start his OWN Trump site…maybe because NO ONE would follow him???
knights fan in minny
your wrong there sister
TS
Minny, I wish he would do exactly that, so he’d have the taylor- made forum for his angry politics. Maybe THEN he’d keep it HOCKEY HERE. For every angry one of those posts there are many like me who are offended. Not EVERYONE is his ” ilk”, as he calls ” the others”. The insulting way he posts is so tiresome, it’s like having a Trump doppelganger here!
Kenny
You are right curse!
Obvious
Like I said many times stone and Eichel careers are on a 1 legged stool. One hit away from potential career ending injuries. Not surprised in the least about stone
By now fans should be accustomed to the smoke and mirror shit from foley, McPhukup and fat bastard. It’s never the truth. Always something misleading, only part of the story and outright blatant lies. They play the fans for fools and so far most have taken their bait hook line and sinker. But foley is an investment banker and those guys are all back stabbing untrustworthy fks that would say or do anything for their own benefit.
It’s like the DNC runs this team
Mike
I love my Knights, yes they killed the expansion draft, but compared to other teams, this team is really mismanaged. It’s like they do not know how to run a respectable franchise, or any franchise for that matter. I am afraid this will bite them in the ass eventually. Players are not going to want to play here, I suspect this has already happened. There is no substitute, championships are built through the draft.
HockeyFrog
Most will still be there. One player may only keep a few out. GL to you guys this year. King’s fan just checking up on the competition. Also just reading anything that has to do with hockey. I need the season to start. I see vgk fans are thinking about the King’s and Danault. Let’s go knock some Canadian teams out of the playoffs. Again GL this year !!
MARK
LOL what actually is really hilarious is the VGK offered Paul Stastny a $2.5 million contract and he told McCrimmon to go fuck him self and he took less money to go to Carolina where he signed a 1 year deal valued at $1.5 million. The bottom line is once the VGK burns a bridge with these players like Fleury and Stastny etc… NO ONE wants to play here anymore. Oh and you can forget about Mark Stone doing anything this season weather he is fully healthy or not and that’s because the team shipped his favorite wing man to Carolina for FREE, That would be Max Pacioretty. After losing Patches it was very very clear that Mark Stone was going to have a horrible year regardless of his health. This team has done more subtracting rather then adding this off-season. The only good move Vegas has made so far is signing Phil Kessel. If Stone and Eichel don’t have big big years, then this team is finished anyway to be totally honest. Their goaltending still sucks and they really don’t have much offensive firepower now, so without a strong season by Stone and Eichel + stellar defense, this team will be at the bottom of the Pacific division. Hopefully we figure something out but so far I’m VERY concerned!!!
hdbiker7851
Mark – you appear to have a better perspective of the situation here with the knights than most people on this site. While I know many won’t agree with your post the Knights are weaker now than ever and the probability of a play-off appearance is slim at best. Teams win, individuals, while helpful, are only as good as the supporting players they have with them. M. Jordan was a great basketball player, but he had lots of help, unfortunately the same can’t be said for the VGK squad. It would be great if it was otherwise.
UK Vegas Knight
What can I say,
I will always love the Knights, win or lose.
I was lucky enough to be a T-Mobile inaugural season for my first every Hockey game and now I’m hooked for life.
I will continue to fight the time difference to watch, and yes I do think this season will be a struggle.But isn’t that part of being a genuine fan? Supporting them through the ups and downs
I will still happily travel the 5000 miles every chance I get, even if it’s to watch a loss.
I understand it’s easy to get disheartened, especially after the start this team has had, but we should all realise how lucky we been as fans so far.
I love the banter but not the bull shit of this site, and thank you to those who have educated a new fan.
Go Knights Go.
UK VGK
TS
UK Fan: such a refreshing post!! Happy to hear positives, and from across the pond, no less!! I hate the Bull, too.
.comes baked-in with many Americans, I’m afeaid. But, aside from that, the Knights have been one of the BEST things to ever happen to Vegas. And this state. Homegrown and proud!! ( Me, included!) Enjoy the season, sleepy- eyed and all!
Jake
In military planning the deception plan is just as important as the plan itself.
Why would the Vegas leadership team share the “goods” so that every team knew about every injury and the future plans?
Johnnny
This is extremely accurate. As a fan I want to a deeper dive to understand what is the breakdown. VGK has never been forthcoming on the inner workings of the organization. Is the VGK not in communication with players and agents or do players not trust the organization. There is a disconnect
MARK
Well thank you for your wonderful response hdbiker7851, yeah the problem with the VGK honestly is the management. They don’t know what they are doing and last year they really mismanaged the salary cap with the edition of Jack Eichel and his incredibly massive $10.0 million a season salary on top of already paying Stone, Pietrangelo and Karlsson huge long term contracts. So in doing that they were forced to cut salary and by doing that, this team has slowly gotten worse and worse over time. With Fleury this team had stability and durability in net which they no longer have and they had a wonderful top line pairing of Stone & Pacioretty which is now gone. They also gave away a really strong and tough goal scorer in Evgenii Dadonov which helped this team ALOT last year. So now they are banking this season on Eichel and Stone playing 82+ games and a strong defense led by new head coach Bruce Cassidy to off set the bad goaltending this team has beyond Logan Thompson. So basically this team is an Eichel and or Stone injury away from being a bottom feeder in the Pacific division this year. It’s definitely not an ideal situation but it’s living proof of the VGK’s horrible front office and very very bad decision making. You really know it’s bad when your own former players tell you “NO THANK YOU” when the team wants you back after stabbing you in the back and those former players take less money to sign elsewhere in the NHL. Definitely not a good sign.
Mark
MARK
The VGK last year tried to trade for Marc Andre Fleury and get him back at the trade deadline when he was in Chicago before he ended up being traded to the Minnesota Wild, Fleury told the Blackhawks front office that he would not accept a trade back to Vegas. Then this off-season David Perron turned down a free agent offer by the Golden Knights to sign with the Detroit Red Wings and then last week the VGK attempted to offer free agent center Paul Stastny a $2.5 million contract and all 3 of these guys told Vegas “NO THANK YOU”, so that shows you right there that this VGK management is a bunch of dummies that have NO clue how to treat players properly and do business the right way. That’s going to burn this team and burn them very badly over time as you can clearly see it’s already starting to happen. It’s definitely not a good look when your own former players want absolutely nothing to do with you. Plus all 3 players actually took LESS money to sign elsewhere. That clearly says they want nothing to do with the Vegas Golden Knights organization period. Not a good look at all.
lvthunder
How do you know all this? It sounds made up.
MARK
Oh it’s 100% definitely not made up my friend. Why don’t you go research it yourself if you don’t believe me and you’ll see the truth for yourself. How do I know this? Well I work at the VGK’s practice facility City National Arena so I get more of the inside track more so then most fans do. So I can guarantee you it’s 100% true. Some media outlets such as Jesse Granger and Elliott Friedman have also confirmed this information as well. That’s why Kelly McCrimmon said immediately after that we were not getting Fleury back. If it was NOT true that Vegas was “exploring the possibility”, then Mr. McCrimmon wouldn’t have went live on the record to shut it all down. Where there is smoke, there is also fire. The truth here is the VGK have made multiple attempts to make wrongful decisions right and the players told the VGK “NO THANK YOU”, then the VGK management is forced to do “damage control” and back peddle to make it look like Vegas didn’t lose out. It’s called business politics my friend. All professional sports teams do it when someone they want bad tells them no.
MARK
Then recently after being traded to Carolina Max Pacioretty went on record saying the Golden Knights organization goes out and parties after games and there is “NO ACCOUNTABILITY” when the team loses a game. Pacioretty went onto say that the management doesn’t care, the coaching staff doesn’t care what happens on the ice, all they care about is making money and selling this team to the fans and out of towners who will go buy tickets and watch this team just skate around out there and not really care if they win or lose. The management has gotten soft on this team and as a result the team as a whole doesn’t seem to care if they make the playoffs or not. Pacioretty said he’s never seen a hockey team go out and party after losing a big game where your playoff lives are on the line. This team needs discipline and some sort of internal structure based on what these former players are telling the media about Vegas and how the hockey operations really runs. Hopefully Bruce Cassidy can restore some of that and bring “Credibility” back to this organization. It certainly could use some and fast!!!