Report: Mark Stone Traded to Golden Knights, Agrees 8-Year Contract Extension

The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators on Monday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. 

Garrioch reported the Senators received Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round draft pick.

Stone was in the final year of his contract and due to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Stone agreed to an eight-year extension with the Golden Knights worth $9.5 million annually.

Stone appeared in 59 games for Ottawa this season. He scored 28 goals and registered 34 assists, putting him on pace to smash his previous career high for points (64 in 2014-15).

Heading into Monday's trade deadline, Sportsnet's Rory Boylen listed Stone as the best player on the market: "Stuck on a bottom-feeding team, Stone has the league's best relative [Corsi for percentage] at 5-on-5 and makes everyone around him better. The only issue is he's on an expiring contract so the return would be far higher for Ottawa if an acquiring team can get an extension worked out."

The Golden Knights obviously achieved that last part, and the Las Vegas Sun's Justin Emerson argued the team didn't give up its best assets to get the deal done:

Brannstrom, the Knights' first-round pick in 2017, has appeared in 41 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. Lindberg is an experienced forward but is likely to be only a half-season rental for Ottawa. The 27-year-old is set to hit free agency and doesn't warrant a significant long-term investment right now.

While Brannstrom has shown a lot of potential, that doesn't always materialize when a player reaches the highest level of the game. Sportsnet's Faizal Khamisa thought Ottawa could've gotten more for Stone:

The Golden Knights shocked fans when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first year as a franchise. By trading for Stone and immediately giving him a big extension, Vegas is clearly looking to make another deep run in the postseason and remain a title contender going forward.