Mark Stone and the Vegas Golden Knights are headed for a rather tough offseason. Vegas fell on Sunday night by a score of 2-1 in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars. The Stars move on to face the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas, though, has some interesting decisions to make this summer.

Those decisions will take place at a later date, though. For now, Vegas and its players are trying to process their loss to the Stars. Stone was one of the Golden Knights players who faced the media after Game 7. He mentioned that he is confident in making it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs next year. But in the moment, this loss certainly hurts.

“They say (winning) is addictive, and it is. I live for this s**t. Most of these guys do… so when you lose it crushes your soul for a few days,” Mark Stone said, via The Athletic's Jesse Granger, after Vegas fell to the Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Golden Knights weren't 100%

Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer shakes hands with Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) after the Stars defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in game seven of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Golden Knights weren't 100% healthy. They had been without Mark Stone since the NHL Trade Deadline. And they had many other players who missed games due to injury. In fact, head coach Bruce Cassidy said Sunday that nine different players had surgery during the season.

Their brutal injury luck continued into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Forward William Karlsson was clearly playing hurt in Game 7 against the Stars. Cassidy confirmed he was dealing with a lower-body injury on Sunday night. The Golden Knights bench boss said Karlsson wasn't complaining before Game 7.

“Lower body injury. I’m not going to get into specifics, but he was not 100%. I could say that. You could see that. We tried to get Karly as much ice time as he could handle. He’s never going to complain,” the Golden Knights bench boss said, via Granger.

Vegas has difficult roster decisions ahead

Mark Stone is likely to return to Vegas next season. However, a number of key members of the team may not say the same. The Golden Knights are projected to have less than $1 million in cap space for the 2024-25 season after contracts come off the books. And it may lead to a Vegas original moving on.

Jonathan Marchessault has played in Vegas since the team's first season in 2017-18. He is the franchise's all-time leader in points with 417. He is also the leader in playoff points with 75. Last season, Marchessault earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Golden Knights won it all.

With limited cap space, though, the veteran winger may not be long for the Sin City. Other potential exits include forwards Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, and Michael Amadio. Defenseman Alec Martinez is another name that could have played his final game with the Golden Knights on Sunday.

Vegas can certainly keep Marchessault, but it'd likely take a trade to do so. William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev are two names that could be moved to clear cap space. Veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo may also be headed out of town if Vegas wants to clear space.

In any event, Mark Stone may be captaining a different Golden Knights team in 2024-25. Vegas should certainly still be a good team next season. But with tough decisions to make this summer, there could be a few new faces in the Sin City once the puck drops in October.