Important Season Ahead for Stone

SensChirp August 20, 2017 599
Important Season Ahead for Stone

With 249 NHL games under his belt and another 27 in the playoffs, Mark Stone is now a veteran in the National Hockey League.

This upcoming season, his fourth in the league, may be one of the most important of his young career.

After posting back to back 60 points seasons (64 and 61), Stone took a bit of a step back last season, finishing with just 54 points. And while he still registered a 3rd consecutive 20 goal campaign, he missed a total of 11 games throughout the course of the year which hampered his production a little bit.

Injuries were a bit of a lingering issue for Stone all year but come playoff time, it was abundantly clear that Stone was nowhere near 100%, his leg/knee being his biggest issue. He had just 8 points in the 19 playoff games and struggled badly on some nights.

Heading into next season, the Senators are counting on Mark Stone to be one of their most important players up front.

Stone was one of the few players that didn’t speak with the media at the end of last season. Over the summer, there have been some suggestions that he may have been the surprisingly unpleasant season-ending interview that Pierre Dorion referenced.

And then during a recent TSN 1200 segment (at 14:35 of this clip) with Bruce Garrioch, there was a question about the rumours that Stone might have some sort of issue with the Coach.  Garrioch dismisses the possibility in his response to the question.

Either way, at 25 years of age, this is obviously a crucial point in Stone’s career.

Not only is he entering his prime in the NHL but he’s also in a contract year.

Stone will make $4.5 mil on the final year of his three year deal and he’ll be looking for a big raise next summer.  The Senators do still have some leverage as Stone remains an RFA but looking at the contracts signed by other prominent restricted free agents around the league, it’s safe to assume Stone and his agent will be looking for at least $6 mil a year on a long-term deal.

And that’s why this is such an important year for Stone and for the team.

That’s a huge commitment to make and the Senators need to know they can continue to count on a healthy and productive Mark Stone. While the two sides could negotiate a new deal as of July 1st if they wanted, there really doesn’t seem to be much movement yet.

When he’s healthy, Mark Stone is one of the best right-wingers in the game.

He has an uncanny ability to read the play, making otherwise quality NHLers look silly by stealing the puck in even the most unlikely situations.  Match that with terrific vision and a tendency to make big plays at key times, and you have a player that has the potential to be among the top forwards in the game.

The Ottawa Senators will need Mark Stone at his best in 2017/2018.