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Mark Stone's status for Game 1 has been revealed.
James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports  

Mark Stone's status for Game 1 has been revealed.

The Vegas Golden Knights have once again courted controversy, but will Stone play in Game 1?

Jonathan Larivee

The Vegas Golden Knights have done it again, queue the outrage.

There has been no official announcement just yet, but ESPN's Emily Kaplan is reporting that Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will be suiting up for the Golden Knights for Game 1 of their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Dallas Stars.

Kaplan has spoken to several executives around the league and although many of them made wise cracks about cap circumvention, I think we have reached a stage where just about everyone realizes that this rule will not, and can not, be changed until the next collective bargaining agreement.

Many will be quick to point fingers at the Golden Knights and label them cheaters for exploiting the rules, but the reality of the situation is that the Golden Knights are in fact playing within the rules established by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players Association.

It's also worth noting that all player injuries are monitored at the league level, so there's no way the Golden Knights could fake an injury as some have tried to allege they are doing.

That being said it is a frustrating situation for fans who feel that the competitive balance and competitive integrity of the Stanley Cup playoffs are being damaged by these types of tactics, and given the fact that they do give teams a competitive advantage it is very difficult to blame fans for feeling cheated.