Mark Stone will be out at least for the rest of the regular season with a lacerated spleen, Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Friday.
McCrimmon was noncommittal when it came to a timeline for when the forward could be expected back in the lineup.
“I don’t know how much more time that he’ll miss beyond that,” McCrimmon said. “It's really an unknown for us. These are different type of injuries than what hockey players normally sustain. It's impossible to know what the timeline is.”
Stone sustained the injury during a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 20 and had been week to week.
The reason for the unknown timeline is because the spleen is an internal organ that will require healing on its own and using CT scans to determine its health.
“It's a little bit of a tough one to pinpoint in terms of circling the date on the calendar,” McCrimmon said. "I don't think this puts him in that risk in any way longer term, but it is going to take the time that it is going to take."
Stone is second for Vegas with 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) in 56 games and leads the team in assists.
This will mark the second time that Stone will be sidelined to end the regular season. He missed the final 39 games last season with a back injury before returning for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, finishing with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 22 postseason games.
McCrimmon offered updates on other injured Vegas players. He said forward Brett Howden is nearing a return from an upper-body injury. Forward William Carrier (upper body) is also close but is dealing with an illness, and defenseman Alec Martinez is out “short term" after having a lower-body procedure.
The news about Stone added to a busy week for the Golden Knights that saw them make three trades: they acquired forward Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, got defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday in a three-team deal also involving the Philadelphia Flyers, and added center Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
“We wanted to help our team,” McCrimmon said. “Our recent play hasn't been good enough. We know that we'll fix that."
The Golden Knights (34-23-7), who ended a four-game skid with a 5-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, are tied with the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific Division and hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
