As expected, the Golden Knights will welcome back winger Mark Stone to their lineup tonight, notes Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 32-year-old wound up missing 14 games overall due to a pulled muscle, stalling what was a very strong start to his season. Stone had six goals and 15 assists in 13 games prior to the injury, putting him among Vegas’ top scorers along with linemate Jack Eichel. With them being off for five days after this game, this is a good chance to test him while ensuring he’ll have ample time off to make sure he’s fully healthy. Prior to his activation, the Golden Knights had two active roster spots so no corresponding transaction needed to be made.
Golden Knights Rumors
Zach Whitecloud Still Considered Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
- It’ll still be a few days before defenseman Zach Whitecloud returns to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Whitecloud is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will miss his fifth straight game tonight. It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Golden Knights as Granger later reported that captain Mark Stone was upgraded to a full-contact jersey at today’s practice meaning he should return soon.
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- It’ll still be a few days before defenseman Zach Whitecloud returns to the Vegas Golden Knights lineup. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Whitecloud is still considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will miss his fifth straight game tonight. It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Golden Knights as Granger later reported that captain Mark Stone was upgraded to a full-contact jersey at today’s practice meaning he should return soon.
Golden Knights Place Daniil Chayka On Unconditional Waivers
Dec. 3: Chayka went unclaimed and is now an unrestricted free agent, Friedman said.
Dec. 2: It appears that the Golden Knights will be parting ways with one of their prospects. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Daniil Chayka has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by Vegas back in 2021, going 38th overall. He signed his entry-level deal just three months later though he spent his post-draft season with OHL Guelph where he had an impressive 39 points in 53 games.
However, point production has not come as easily for Chayka at the professional level. After putting up eight points in 57 games with AHL Henderson in 2022-23, he followed that up with just seven in 64 appearances in his sophomore year. This season, Chayka has split time between the Silver Knights (five games) and ECHL Tahoe (four games), recording an assist with each franchise.
Assuming he isn’t claimed, Chayka will be walking away from more than half of his entry-level deal as he’s signed through next season. If he’s unclaimed and released, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and could try to catch on with another NHL franchise or look to return to Russia; he played in CSKA Moscow’s system in 2020-21 when the OHL didn’t play that season.
Stone Skates In Non-Contact Jersey
The Golden Knights could be getting their top winger back relatively soon. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal relays (Twitter link) that Mark Stone took part in practice today in a non-contact jersey. The 32-year-old got off to his best offensive start, recording six goals and 15 assists in the first 13 games of the season before suffering a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the last three weeks. Stone is only on regular injured reserve, not LTIR so he doesn’t have to miss at least 10 games before being activated; he can be re-added to the roster as soon as he gets the green light from team doctors.
Golden Knights Recall Victor Olofsson From Conditioning Loan, Assign Two To AHL
The Golden Knights have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Winnipeg. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Victor Olofsson has been recalled from AHL Henderson with his conditioning loan now complete. Meanwhile, winger Mason Morelli and blueliner Robert Hagg have been re-assigned to the Silver Knights.
Olofsson signed with Vegas in free agency over the summer, inking a one-year, $1.075MM deal in the hopes of rebuilding his value after a tough final couple of years in Buffalo. The 29-year-old got off to an impressive start with two goals in the season opener while adding another tally in his fourth outing. However, that was his last appearance with them thanks to a lower-body injury that landed him on LTIR.
Olofsson was sent down on November 18th but didn’t see any game action with Henderson. That trend will continue for the time being as he’s not expected to suit up against the Jets.
Morelli, meanwhile, has been recalled three times recently but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time as he has just one appearance with Vegas this season, one that saw him play just 7:31. He has been productive with the Silver Knights though, notching five goals and four assists in 13 games thus far.
As for Hagg, he also has been shuffled back and forth quite frequently over the last week and a half. The veteran has suited up twice for the Golden Knights this season, making it nine straight years with appearances at the top level. However, he’s averaging just over 11 minutes per game while also recording 11 hits in those outings. He has gotten off to a nice start offensively in the minors, however, picking up eight points in 14 games with Henderson.
With the moves, Vegas has once again exited LTIR and is back to banking a small amount of cap room. Ben Hutton is presently on LTIR so if the Golden Knights need to bring anyone up later on, they will have the flexibility to do so by using Hutton’s $975K buffer.
Karlsson And Pietrangelo Likely To Play Tonight
San Jose Sharks forward Mikael Granlund will miss his second straight game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (as per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka). The Sharks leading scorer took part in the team’s morning skate but will not play tonight against the Ottawa Senators.
Granlund is in his second season with San Jose and continues to produce offense with nine goals and 15 assists in 23 games. The 32-year-old likely won’t be out for long which is good news for the Sharks as Granlund is almost a certainty to be dealt before the NHL trade deadline.
In other Pacific Division notes:
- The Vegas Golden Knights tweeted that forward William Karlsson and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo should play tonight’s against the Colorado Avalanche. Karlsson missed the first eight games of the season with a lower-body injury but missed Monday nights for the birth of his second child. The 31-year-old has been solid since returning to action, posting six goals and four assists in 13 games. Pietrangelo suffered an upper-body injury on November 20th in Toronto and has sat out the last three games. He has had a terrific start to the season, with 14 points in his first 19 games.
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Samuel Helenius and defenseman Jacob Moverare from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (as per AHL Transactions page). The Kings have made several paper transactions with the two players as of late, trying to do what they can to maximize cap space. The 22-year-old Helenius has dressed in six NHL games this season for the Kings, posting two assists while averaging just over nine minutes a game. Moverare has gone scoreless in four games this season for Los Angeles, averaging a tick over 12 minutes of ice time per game.
Morelli, Burke, And Hagg Recalled After Being Demoted Sunday
- After being papered down on Sunday, the Golden Knights have recalled wingers Mason Morelli and Callahan Burke, who scored his first NHL goal on Saturday in a win over Montreal. They also brought back blueliner Robert Hagg who was both recalled (on an emergency basis) and sent down on Saturday. Hagg’s recall moves Vegas back into using LTIR for now.
[SOURCE LINK]
- After being papered down on Sunday, the Golden Knights have recalled wingers Mason Morelli and Callahan Burke, who scored his first NHL goal on Saturday in a win over Montreal. They also brought back blueliner Robert Hagg who was both recalled (on an emergency basis) and sent down on Saturday. Hagg’s recall moves Vegas back into using LTIR for now.
Whitecloud Out With Upper-Body Injury; Karlsson Out For Personal Reasons
- There will be a few missing players for the Vegas Golden Knights this evening. The organization announced that defenseman Zach Whitecloud is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Vegas also added that forward William Karlsson won’t participate in tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers due to personal reasons. The injury to Whitecloud will strain the Golden Knights’ blue line with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo set to miss his third consecutive game.
[SOURCE LINK]
- There will be a few missing players for the Vegas Golden Knights this evening. The organization announced that defenseman Zach Whitecloud is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Vegas also added that forward William Karlsson won’t participate in tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers due to personal reasons. The injury to Whitecloud will strain the Golden Knights’ blue line with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo set to miss his third consecutive game.
Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague, Pietrangelo Still Day-To-Day
The Vegas Golden Knights will see the return of defenseman Nicolas Hague this evening as the organization announced they activated him off the injured reserve shortly before their contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Hague has been on the shelf for three weeks with an undisclosed injury and will play in his first contest tonight since November 2nd.
Hague has been an ultra-consistent defenseman for the Golden Knights since the team selected him with the 34th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s coming off an impressive stretch from 2022 to 2024 which saw him post some of the best defensive metrics of his career.
His 154-game stretch over the last two years only yielded five goals and 29 points on offense. On the defensive side of the puck, Hague racked up 244 blocks, 27o hits, a 91.3% on-ice save percentage in all situations, and an Expected +/- of 2.8. He became a focal piece of the Golden Knights defensive core leading the organization to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2023.
It unfortunately won’t be a completely healthy defensive core for Vegas tonight against Montreal. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is still considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Webster confirmed that Pietrangelo is progressing well through his injury but he will still miss his second straight game due to the ailment.
Geertsen Now Cancer-Free
- Golden Knights winger Mason Geertsen released a statement through AHL Henderson’s Twitter account announcing that he is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last November. The 29-year-old missed a month last season following the diagnosis but has been able to play regularly since then. Geertsen has three assists and 19 penalty minutes in eight games so far with the Silver Knights this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.