- Mark Stone signed a two-year, $18 million extension with Vegas at a $9 million AAV
- The deal starts in 2027-28 and runs through 2028-29, a slight pay cut from his current $9.5 million hit
- Read below for Stone’s career-best numbers and his league-leading takeaway rate
Vegas is not letting its only captain get anywhere near the open market.
The Golden Knights signed Mark Stone to a two-year, $18 million contract extension on Saturday, general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced. It carries a $9 million average annual value, kicks in after this season and runs through 2028-29.
That is a pay cut. Stone plays this season on the last year of the eight-year, $76 million deal he signed in March 2019, which carries a $9.5 million cap hit.
He is also the only captain the franchise has ever had, and he will still be wearing the C when the new money starts.
Stone got the letter in January 2021. Two years later he became the first player of the modern era to help a team win its first Stanley Cup as that team’s first captain, and he did it with a hat trick in the Game 5 clincher against Florida.
Last season was the best of his career on a per-game basis. He tied his career high with 73 points (28 goals, 45 assists) in 60 games, and his 1.22 points per game ranked 11th among all NHL skaters.
Then came 12 points in 17 playoff games, a sweep of Colorado in the Western Conference Final and a six-game loss to Carolina in the Stanley Cup Final.
The defensive half is where he separates himself. Stone has 401 takeaways since arriving from Ottawa in 2019, an even 1.00 per game, which leads every skater in the league over that stretch. He has been a Selke Trophy finalist twice in Vegas.
Health is the one thing working against the deal. He has never played more than 66 games in a season for the Golden Knights, with multiple back surgeries, a ruptured spleen and a pair of injuries last season cutting into the total.
This is the second extension Vegas has handed out this week. Braeden Bowman got a six-year extension two days earlier, and William Karlsson and Carter Hart are both headed for unrestricted free agency next summer.
Take a look at the team’s announcement video:
Opening night is Sept. 29 at home against Chicago under first-year coach Ryan Craig, with Stone now signed through his age-36 season.
