Vegas Golden Knights GM addresses hockey world's speculations of using Mark Stone's LTIR for salary cap circumvention

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Mar 12, 2024 03:36 GMT

Kelly McCrimmon, the GM of the Vegas Golden Knights, has responded to the criticism surrounding his team's use of the long-term injured reserve.

The Golden Knights made some great moves at this year's trade deadline, which led to their criticism of exploiting the long-term injured reserve system to their advantage heading into the playoffs.

Notably, the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) system allows teams to exceed the salary cap when they have players who are injured for an extended period of time. By utilizing the LTIR system, teams can free up cap space to make additional roster moves and acquire new players to strengthen their roster.

The Vegas Golden Knights bolstered their roster by adding Anthony Mantha, Noah Hanifin, and Tomas Hertl at this year's trade deadline.

These moves were made possible after captain Mark Stone, out for the regular season due to a spleen injury, was placed on LTIR, allowing the Golden Knights to free up a cap space of $9.5 million.

In a recent segment of "The Jeff Merek Show," McCrimmon defended his team's actions, stating that they were simply working within the rules and regulations set by the National Hockey League:

"Google 'lacerated spleen' and see if you can tell when a player is going to be back," he told "The Jeff Marek Show," referring to the ailment that's sidelined captain Mark Stone since late February. "It's ridiculous to suggest that these weren't significant injuries or aren't significant injuries.

The GM added:

"Furthermore, the National Hockey League polices all of this. The rules are the rules, the NHL watches this very carefully."

"LTIR is collectively bargained between the Players' Association and the NHL," he said. "The idea behind it is, if you have a player suffer a significant injury, you can replace that player. Obviously from there, it's the timing of injuries."

It's worth noting that Mark Stone's status for the postseason remains uncertain and he could return to the lineup following the regular season since the salary cap doesn't apply in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The situation is quite similar to the last campaign. Stone sustained a back injury in January and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. However, he returned for the playoffs, and the Golden Knights were able to make some big acquisitions during the deadline.

Vegas Golden Knights league standings and playoff chances

Vancouver Canucks v Vegas Golden Knights

Following the acquisition of some big names during this year's trade deadline, the Vegas Golden Knights are back in the conversation for this year's Stanley Cup.

The reigning champions currently sit fourth in the Pacific Division, tying with the third-placed LA Kings with 75 points. The club is 3-6-1 in their last ten outings and is coming off a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in their last outing.

The Golden Knights are second in the wild card from the West and take on the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.