Stone Stays. Now Vegas Has to Win the Close Ones.

The Golden Knights locked up captain Mark Stone on Saturday with a two-year extension at $9 million per season through 2028–29. Stone played only 32 games last season but posted 44 points in that time, and the organization clearly decided it had seen enough to commit. He is the anchor of a veteran core that also includes Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner, and keeping him in place is the clearest signal yet that Vegas intends to contend rather than rebuild.

The extension makes sense on its face. What it cannot do on its own is fix the thing that actually broke Vegas last season. The Knights went 16–27 in one-goal games — they were a fine hockey team that could not close. Stone's presence matters in tight situations, but so does a coaching staff with a plan, a backup goaltender who exists, and a forward group that can replace the 19 goals that left with Pavel Dorofeyev in June. None of those questions were answered Saturday.

Seventeen days until Chicago. The Stone deal is done. The rest of the offseason ledger is still open.