Dallas Stars alternate captain Tyler Seguin disapproved of fans booing Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone upon his return from injury in their playoff series.
Stone made his highly anticipated return to the ice on Monday after missing months due to a lacerated spleen. However, his comeback was met with constant boos from the Dallas crowd every time he touched the puck.
Seguin condemned the fan reaction, saying:
“Sometimes when you get booed, it gets you going. I didn’t really enjoy our fans booing Mark Stone. That gets you going. When I used to get booed in Winnipeg for whatever reason, I would have my best nights.”
Stone’s return has sparked controversy, as the Golden Knights placed him on long-term injured reserve at the end of February. This freed up over $9 million in cap space for Vegas to make major additions like Noah Hanifin and Tomáš Hertl leading up to the trade deadline.
In the playoffs, the salary cap does not apply, meaning Stone’s cap hit essentially does not count. This allows Vegas to ice a roster technically over the cap by $1 million.
Many see this as circumventing the rules, as Vegas made significant upgrades using the extra space created by Stone’s LTIR placement. Stone then returned for the playoffs when the cap did not matter, drawing criticism from fans.
Mark Stone went on to score a key power play goal in Game 1’s 4-3 Vegas victory.
Elliotte Friedman’s thoughts on the Golden Knights’ use of LTIR cap space after Mark Stone’s injury
Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman recently shared his perspective on the Vegas Golden Knights’ controversial use of long-term injured reserve (LTIR) cap space following captain Mark Stone’s injury.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Friedman acknowledged that while other teams like the Blackhawks and Lightning have previously benefited from the LTIR loophole, the Golden Knights have “perfected” the strategy this season with Stone.
“The thing is this, other people have done it, the Golden Knights have perfected it and I think that’s what got other people upset,” Friedman said on the Golden Knights LTIR usage back to back season.
While this maneuvering fits within the current CBA rules, Friedman expects it to be a point of contention in upcoming CBA negotiations.
“I think this time, the next CBA, Collective Bargaining Agreement is up in two years, this is something that would have to get sort it out between the league, the teams and the players,” Friedman said (at 1:13 in the video below). “We are gonna find out in two years if everybody really wants to stop this and then we’ll get our answer.”
It remains to be seen if those rules will tighten when the new CBA is negotiated.
