Mark Stone recovered from a lower-body injury after the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and the Vegas Golden Knights forward is eager to play in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
"[The pause] kind of came at a good time for me," Stone said Thursday. "I'm ready to go. I'm 100 percent, and I'm ready to try and win the Stanley Cup."
Stone had 63 points (21 goals, 42 assists) in 65 games, then missed six games before the pause. He was allowed at the Golden Knights' practice facility during the pause to rehab, and he received clearance to play.
He returned with some of his teammates Monday for Phase 2 of the Return to Play Plan, which allows teams to hold limited workouts with small groups at their facilities.
"It's the same thing in the summers," he said. "You're so excited to get a little bit of time off, and after a month, you just want to get back with your friends and just play some hockey. So it was just exciting to be back and share a couple laughs with the guys, get back in and get back skating."
Twenty-four teams will open training camp July 10 in Phase 3, provided conditions allow and the NHL and the NHL Players' Association reach an agreement on resuming play.
Play will resume in Phase 4 with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. The top four teams in each conference will play a round-robin to determine seeding for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the others will play best-of-5 series. The qualifiers will be at two hub cities to be identified -- one for the Eastern Conference teams, one for the Western teams -- and begin at a date to be determined.
"I want to compete for the Stanley Cup," Stone said. "I want to play hockey. I want to get back to work, and ultimately, I want to entertain people. Everybody that I hear or see, all they're talking about in this city especially is, 'When are you guys going to play? We want to watch you guys play.' …
"I'm just excited. I know a lot of my teammates feel the same. We know we have a great team. We want to have a chance to win. I think sports can kind of bring people together, and I think a lot of people are watching the [PGA Tour] today. They're excited to see some live entertainment. For me, I want to entertain the people again. I think a lot of us do."
Stone said he and his teammates are easing back onto the ice, for now.
"We want to avoid injuries, groin injuries, for the first couple weeks," he said. "I think this is a good opportunity for us to build our skill set, and then once we get closer to training camp, we can really ramp it up."
Stone said training camp will be very different from a typical preseason camp.
"I don't know how big the rosters are going to be, but we're going to have our team," he said. "During training camps, usually you have a couple different teams. You're playing with different guys. We've got to prepare to play. We've got to be ready to be playing our best once we start the season."
The Golden Knights (39-24-8, .606 points percentage) were third in the West and will play their round-robin against the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
"I think those games are going to be very, very important for us for getting back into that competitive [mode]," Stone said. "Obviously we're at an advantage not having to play the play-in, but those play-in teams that move on are also at an advantage because they've played a competitive series. So, we're going to have to play those games do or die and try and get as high a seed (as possible), not so much just for the seed, but to get into that rhythm.
"I don't know. I mean, you've seen the playoffs. Everybody's seen the playoffs. The first seed doesn't win every year. The second seed doesn't win every year. Once you get in, you have a chance to win. That's the way we have to operate. But it's whoever's playing their best hockey."
Stone said he hopes the Golden Knights can return to the form they had before the pause, when they were on an 11-2-0 run.
"It'll be different, but nothing's normal right now," he said. "It's a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. I don't think it changes anything. … If we can get off to a good start, that can build us and give us an upper edge going into the playoffs."
