Golden Knights Missed Over 1,100 Days Due To Injury In 2021, 7th Most In NHL

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Vegas Golden Knights missed the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs was because of their constant injury troubles. Key players such as Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Robin Lehner, and Alec Martinez all missed significant portions of the season.

Even newly-acquired superstar Jack Eichel missed games after he had his neck surgery.

The statistics per Betway show that the Golden Knights combined for a total of 1,197 missed days due to injury. They ranked seventh out of all NHL teams. Here’s the full list:

1. Montreal Canadiens: 2755 days 
2. Arizona Coyotes: 1996 days
3. Buffalo Sabres: 1767 days
4. Tampa Bay Lightning: 1547 days
5. Ottawa Senators: 1335 days
6. Philadelphia Flyers: 1246 days
7. Vegas Golden Knights: 1197 days
8. Pittsburgh Penguins: 1167 days
9. Los Angeles Kings: 1143 days
10. Washington Capitals: 1085 days

Four of these teams made the playoffs. The Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh Penguins were all eliminated in the first round, and the Tampa Bay Lightning went on to the Cup Final.

These findings calculate that the Golden Knights have spent $39 million paying injured players from 2017-2021. The total injury costs from all 32 NHL teams in this span was $1,234,586,375.77.

The study also provided the top-five teams with the lowest number of days missed due to injury. All five of these teams made the playoffs in 2022.

1. Dallas Stars: 200 days
2. Minnesota Wild: 262 days
3. Carolina Hurricanes: 267 days
4. Boston Bruins: 296 days
5. Toronto Maple Leafs: 298 days

The Golden Knights are already a contender to finish towards the top of next year’s list as goaltender Robin Lehner will miss the entire year with a hip injury. The statuses of Laurent Brossoit, Nolan Patrick, and even Mark Stone are up in the air as well. Oh, and the acquisition of Shea Weber’s contract will also surely inflate these statistics.