In recent weeks, there has been speculation that the Golden Knights would like to free up some salary cap flexibility heading into free agency next month. While that may still be the case, one of the speculated potential casualties is actually not in play; Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Vegas is not looking to move center William Karlsson.
Karlsson is one of the few remaining original members of the team after joining them in the 2017 Expansion Draft. Throughout his time in Vegas, he has been a reliable two-way center and has signed two separate deals with the team.
However, the 32-year-old is coming off a rather quiet season. Limited to just 53 games during the regular season due to injuries, Karlsson put up just nine goals and 20 assists while seeing his playing time drop to 17:01 per night. His point total and ATOI were both the lowest they had been since he joined the Golden Knights.
With Jack Eichel entrenched as the number one center and a stated desire to sign him to a long-term extension this summer and Tomas Hertl in the fold for another five years, it’s understandable why some wondered if Karlsson could be in play. And with just two seasons remaining on his contract with a $5.9MM price tag plus a strong track record, Vegas would have been in a great position to command a strong return for his services.
But center depth is difficult to part with if you can afford to keep it. Both Eichel and Hertl have a track record of dealing with injuries themselves so having three top-six-caliber middlemen is a great luxury to have while keeping Nicolas Roy and Brett Howden in the bottom six.
Speaking of cap space, the Golden Knights presently have around $9.6MM in room, per PuckPedia. However, they have several players to spend that money on with wingers Reilly Smith, Victor Olofsson, Brandon Saad, and goalie Ilya Samsonov all set to become unrestricted free agents next month, with Nicolas Hague, frequently mentioned in trade speculation himself, becoming an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in July. But while it’s understandable that Vegas wants to open up extra cap space heading into free agency, it appears it won’t be coming from one of their longest-serving players.
Which Vegas player wants to go on LTIR until the playoffs begin?
Pietrangelo. Hearing some rumours (FWIW) that he may never play again.
Doesn’t matter. As long as there is even a chance, we get to watch you and your clan continually get tweaked over a salary cap move that was collectively bargained.
Not sure it should be described as “a salary cap move that was collectively bargained” but rather an unintended consequence. & When its fans that are complaining & not the players or owners we see why its taking close to 10 yrs to remedy.
And we get to see you lose it any time its mentioned. Much more entertaining.
Interesting time to make this comment. Rent free…
Not sure any of those UFA players listed are that big of a priority to re-sign. Probably will keep Smith.