Latest On William Karlsson
Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson has been out since November with a lower-body injury, but isn’t particularly close to returning according to Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon. McCrimmon told the media, including Jesse Granger of The Athletic, that Karlsson won’t be able to start the team’s playoff series against the Utah Mammoth and would likely need Vegas to make a deep playoff run to have a chance at returning to the lineup in 2025-26.
Karlsson, 33, already lost the chance to compete at the Winter Olympics for his native Sweden as a result of his injury, and could now end up missing a Golden Knights playoff run as well. Vegas has been in fine form under new head coach John Tortorella, and would surely get a boost from adding one of the team’s best original expansion draft selections. Karlsson scored 30 goals and 60 points in 2023-24, his most recent healthy campaign, and had 29 points in 53 games last year. This season, he scored seven points in 14 games before suffering his injury.
Jonathan Quick To Retire Following Season
As speculated, tonight will be Jonathan Quick‘s last start of his NHL career. Getting the nod against the Florida Panthers, Quick told reporters (via Vince Z. Mercogliano) that he is retiring after the 2025-26 season.
Quick’s professional career began back in 2005, when he was selected 72nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings. After a pair of quality years at the University of Massachusetts, the Kings felt it was time to bring Quick to the professional level.
Unfortunately, his first season didn’t go as well as he had hoped. He was disappointing in a few games with Los Angeles and spent much of the year split between the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs and ECHL’s Reading Royals.
Still, despite again beginning the year in the AHL, Quick was called up when netminder Erik Ersberg went down with an injury, and never looked back.
Throughout the next decade, Quick became one of the most dominant goalies of his era. From his call-up during the 2008-09 season through the 2017-18 season, Quick won 292 out of 553 games (.528 W%) with a .917 SV% and 2.27 GAA. Although he never won the Vezina Trophy, he took home a pair of William M. Jennings trophies in 2014 and 2018.
Additionally, one cannot bring up Quick’s dominant run in Los Angeles without mentioning his playoff performances. In that same decade, Quick backstopped the Kings to two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014, winning 46 of 85 games (.541 W%) with a .922 SV% and 2.23 GAA. His performance was impressive during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, and he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s MVP.
If they hadn’t already, Quick’s performance in 2012 certified that he was the Kings’ goaltender of the future, and they rewarded him with a 10-year, $58MM ($5.8MM AAV) extension.
As it does so often, injuries and age crept up on Quick, and his stability in the crease began to wane during the 2018-19 season. Finishing out his 10-year extension with Los Angeles, Quick found his way to the Vegas Golden Knights after the Kings traded him to Columbus, and the Blue Jackets shipped him to Vegas.
While he didn’t have an integral role with the team, nor did he get his name on the Stanley Cup, Quick won the trophy for the third time with the Golden Knights in 2023. Knowing that his career was coming to an end, Quick signed with the New York Rangers, a team he had grown up idolizing, ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Far removed from being a quality starter, Quick has still managed to be a productive backup for the Rangers. In three years with the club, Quick has managed a 35-29-6 record in 75 games, with a .900 SV% and 2.94 GAA.
Before tonight’s contest, Quick owns a 410-306-90 record throughout his 828-game NHL career. His 410 wins stand as the 12th-most all-time in the NHL, though he won’t have a chance to crack Tony Esposito‘s record with a win tonight. Additionally, his career .910 SV% ranks 59th all-time, just a few points shy of Patrick Roy.
We at PHR congratulate Quick on a Hall of Fame career and wish him the best of luck in his next chapter.
Photo courtesy of Jerry Lai of USA TODAY Sports.
Golden Knights To Activate Carter Hart From LTIR
The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to activate goaltender Carter Hart off of long-term injured reserve, and award him the start in Thursday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Hart has sat out of the last 33 games due to an extended lower-body injury sustained on January 8th.
Hart signed a two-year contract with Vegas in October and returned to NHL ice in early-December. He went on to appear in 12 games with the Golden Knights over the next month, posting six wins and a .871 save percentage in the process. Vegas deployed Hart as their starting goaltender through that month, defaulting Akira Schmid to the backup role while Adin Hill worked his way back from a multi-month leg injury. Hill returned to the lineup one week after Hart’s injury.
Vegas has turned towards Hill and Schmid to fill their goaltending room in the near-three months since Hart went down. Hill has carried the bulk of the weight, recording nine wins, one shutout, and a .865 save percentage in 21 games since returning to the lineup. Schmid has recorded four wins and a .889 save percentage in 12 games. Carl Lindbom also stepped into one game – an 18-save win – after Hart’s injury.
With Hart’s return, freshly-cristened Vegas head coach John Tortorella will now have to juggle three goalies at the NHL level. He could have some favor for Hart, who he coached on the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Those campaigns stand as some of Hart’s best. He tallied 22 wins and a .907 save percentage in 55 games of 2022-23, and 12 wins and a .906 save percentage in 26 games of 2023-24. His only season with more wins and a higher save percentage came in his breakout 2019-20 season, when Hart tallied 24 wins and a .914 save percentage in 43 games.
A familiar face behind the bench could help Hart turn a disastrous season – marked by court cases, a slow return, and injury – into a positive swing when Vegas needs it most. The Golden Knights ranked in the middle of the league – 17th, to be exact – in goals-against per-game over the month of March. That is despite the team also facing the second-fewest shots-against in the same span. Those struggles led to the firing of Stanley Cup-winning head coach Bruce Cassidy and a turn towards the experienced Tortorella. Now, Vegas will test if they hve found the goaltending needed to hang onto their third-place spot in the Pacific Division, through a trio of Hart, Hill, and Schmid.
Golden Knights Assign Braeden Bowman To AHL
The Vegas Golden Knights announced tonight that Braeden Bowman has been assigned to AHL Henderson.
Undrafted out of the OHL, Bowman caught on with Vegas and has become a solid depth forward at just 22 years old. A team always right against the cap, with injuries also a factor, the winger managed to get into 54 games at the NHL level where he’s come away with eight goals and 26 points on 14:08 a night. Offering a 49.6% corsi for at five on five, respectable for any unsung rookie, Bowman’s shifts were relatively protected by the now-fired head coach Bruce Cassidy, starting just under 60% in the offensive zone.
Either way, Bowman has lit it up in small AHL usage this season, 12 points in as many games, and he’ll be welcomed into 12th-ranked Henderson’s forward corps with open arms.
The trade deadline acquisitions of Nic Dowd and Cole Smith, both defensive specialists, effectively bumped Bowman out of the lineup who naturally was less trusted in such a role. He hadn’t played since March 21, also unable yet to make an impression in-game under new bench boss John Tortorella.
With seven regular season games left after a shocking late-season shift, Vegas will hope the bold move provides a spark, while Bowman will enjoy playing time in the AHL. The Golden Knights have several veterans with expiring contracts, the likes of Colton Sissons, Brandon Saad, Reilly Smith, as well as the other Smith mentioned above. As a result, Bowman will continue to be an appealing depth option in years to come, already putting together an impressive career for an undrafted player.
John Tortorella's Contract Only Runs Through End Of 2025-26 Season
Earlier this afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights sent waves through the NHL by firing head coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with veteran bench boss John Tortorella. Still, the Golden Knights didn’t give Tortorella a long leash.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tortorella’s contract with Vegas only runs through the rest of the 2025-26 season. He’ll be guaranteed the last eight games of the regular season for the Golden Knights, and, assuming they make the playoffs, their last game of the postseason. Unless an extension is agreed to beforehand, the Golden Knights may be looking for a new head coach in a few months.
It’s a similar move to what the Columbus Blue Jackets did with Rick Bowness, albeit with much more time remaining in the season. However, even if the Tortorella experiment isn’t fruitful, the Golden Knights could explore a reunion with Peter DeBoer, hire Jay Woodcroft away from the Anaheim Ducks, or take a run at David Carle at the University of Denver. That’s all before any other teams make changes leading into the summer.
Golden Knights Fire Bruce Cassidy, Name John Tortorella Head Coach
A massive storyline has emerged this afternoon as the Vegas Golden Knights have fired Bruce Cassidy and named John Tortorella their new head coach in an announcement from the team.
Currently third in the Pacific Division with more than an 80% chance to make the playoffs per Moneypuck, Vegas’ decision to part ways with the franchise’s most accomplished coach, in late March no less, comes as a shock. With just eight games remaining in the regular season, the group will now be led by Tortorella, who last coached with the Flyers until being fired 367 days ago.
In a statement from General Manager Kelly McCrimmon, he said “With the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club”.
On Tortorella, he continued, “His guidance will be a great asset to our team at the pivotal point in the season we currently face”.
Sitting 19th in the league, it’s fair to say that Cassidy’s efforts came short this season. With 232 goals scored, 19th best across the league, they sit at -2 in overall goal differential. It’s a step below a team which had some hype as a Stanley Cup favorite in the fall.
The 60-year-old emphasizes an aggressive zone entry system with layered defense. Often tailoring his strategy to fit the skills of his players, roster construction has played a part in the Golden Knights’ performance this year.
The summer addition of Mitch Marner was a no-brainer, but it made the team even more top heavy. Depth scoring has been hard to come by, as Vegas has had to rely on various unacclaimed wingers in their bottom six. McCrimmon added depth forwards Nic Dowd and Cole Smith at the deadline, improving penalty killing, but hardly moving the needle offensively.
On the back-end, Vegas made a splash as they acquired Rasmus Andersson from Calgary in January. His underlying numbers have improved, but the 29-year-old’s adjustment to the Golden Knights after nine years as a Flame is still a work in progress. Alex Pietrangelo has been sorely missed, with his career in jeopardy from chronic hip issues.
Finally, goaltending has been another issue for the Golden Knights. Adin Hill, locked up for six more years, is having his worst season as a pro, with injuries a factor. Akira Schmid has held things down respectably, but he’s not a name any real contender would be associated with as their #1 option.
All that to say, Vegas management still believes the roster has more to offer than where they stand today, and they’re making a tremendously bold move in turning to Tortorella. Cassidy immediately becomes the top coach available entering the off-season, with a .630 win percentage including four 50+ win seasons between his time in Boston and Vegas, and of course, a Stanley Cup to boot.
Tortorella, a Stanley Cup winning coach himself (2004, Tampa Bay), is a veteran of 1,620 games behind the bench. He’s also a two-time Jack Adams winner, bringing in the award for the NHL’s best coach in 2004 and 2017. Last in charge in Philadelphia from 2022-25, he was unable to steer the Flyers into the postseason, and did not win more than 38 games in a season. The Massachusetts native had been filling in as an analyst with ESPN, also serving as an assistant on the gold medal winning Team USA at the 2026 Olympic Games.
His more “old school” approach with relentless work ethic and defensive responsibility brought success to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the late 2010s, able to get the most out of lesser skilled teams. The Jackets’ incredible sweep of the President’s Trophy winning Lightning in 2019 stands as the organization’s most proud moment. A franchise never able to find their footing beforehand, the Jackets turned the corner during Tortorella’s term.
How Tortorella may fit into a team like the Golden Knights will be fascinating to watch, especially with the season nearing its end. Never shy to criticize his players, his relationship with Marner, Jack Eichel, and the rest of the Vegas stars will captivate the league.
As far as mid-season coaching changes can go, Tortorella is always an intriguing candidate for his ability to change the culture. Some may be critical of his most recent Flyers tenure and its lack of on-ice success, but Philadelphia management sought out “Torts” to guide the team into a re-tooling period where they’d implement the “Flyers way”. It ended last March unceremoniously, but given their step forward this year, his imprints helped shape the team into what it is today.
With all of that in mind, his latest gig presents a challenge unlike any of the others. It’s hardly a “mid-season” shift. Tortorella inherits a skilled team right on the cusp of the playoffs, in a move that will be scrutinized for years to come.
If any club were to make such a ruthless and unexpected change, it would be the Golden Knights based on their history. They are on to their fourth head coach in nine seasons in existence; such change is despite missing the playoffs just once in that time.
Gerard Gallant led the expansion team to an unforgettable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, returning to the playoffs the next year, yet found himself out of a job the following January. Peter DeBoer then took over, leading the Knights to a dominant 2020-21 season where they tied for most points in the NHL before coming up short in the Conference Finals. After a respectable 2021-22 where they did miss the playoffs, he was subsequently dismissed, as Cassidy took the helm.
Much like his previous tenure in Boston which brought a Jack Adams in 2020, Cassidy had immediate success, leading Vegas to their best regular season in franchise history in 2022-23 by point total (111). He capped it off by raising the Stanley Cup, defeating the Florida Panthers in five games. The Golden Knights’ sometimes questionable moves had paid off; they’d reached the pinnacle in just their sixth year as a franchise.
Since then, they’ve won just one playoff round, as the success has been harder to come by. Still, the Golden Knights are right in the playoff mix. The additions of Eichel and Marner have the team set up for years to come, as they etch a new post- “misfits” era.
Now they’re starting over behind the bench yet again, as the trio of Gallant, DeBoer, and Cassidy all ended their tenure with win percentages over .600. In comes Tortorella, 67, whose .479 win percentage in his Flyers tenure came in at the worst compared to his previous jobs (Lightning, Rangers, Canucks, Blue Jackets).
With April just days away, Tortorella will have to hit the ground running, set to make his Vegas coaching debut tomorrow night at home against his former club in Vancouver.
Image Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports (Tortorella)
Image Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports (Cassidy)
Golden Knights Sign Pavel Moysevich
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed 2024 third-round pick Pavel Moysevich to a three-year, entry-level contract per Moysevich’s agent, Dan Milstein. The Golden Knights later confirmed the deal.
Moysevich, 21, has long been regarded as one of many high-end goalie prospects in the SKA St. Petersburg pipeline. He was one of eight goalies to play for SKA’s VHL club this season, which limited his chance at routine starts all season long. Moysevich was also out of the lineup from mid-November until late-January. In total, Moysevich earned just 10 starts this season. He recorded five wins, a .917 save percentage, 2.41 goals-against-average, and one shutout in those appearances and dressed for an additional 23 games as backup. His stat line fell from the numbers he posted through the last two VHL seasons – a 14-8-2 record, .926 SV%, and 2.17 GAA. Around those games, Moysevich also played in 31 KHL games, netting a .912 SV%, 2.45 GAA, and nine wins.
Moysevich now measures in at six-foot-seven, two inches taller than his draft-year measurements. He still moves with speed and athleticism despite that, giving Vegas an exciting prospect to add to a shallow goalie depth chart. Moysevich should immediately compete with Carl Lindbom and Cameron Whitehead, both 22, for starts in Henderson. Lindbom has posted a .922 SV% in 27 games while Whitehead, playing in his first pro season, has a .878 SV% in 14 games. When he moves to North America, Moysevich could take on the role of Jesper Vikman, who played 18 games with the Silver Knights before being traded to the Washington Capitals in Vegas’ Trade Deadline acquisition of Nic Dowd.
Jonas Rondbjerg Resumes Skating
There’s still no status update on Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who left early in Sunday’s action against the Predators, playing just 3:12. Late last night head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters, including Jason Gregor of Sports 1440, that “I don’t think it should be long. There might be some time off”.
Draisaitl scored a power play tally just minutes into the game, marking his 30th goal against Nashville across his career, the most against any team he’s played. It’s particularly noteworthy because he’s done so in just 32 games. However, not long after, he took a hit into the opponent’s bench. Staying on his feet, there was still a blow to the lower back area.
The superstar played briefly after, but then was pulled and didn’t return. There was never an official announcement from the team that he’d been ruled out, but as the game wore on, it became only more evident.
It would take a late season collapse for Edmonton to miss the playoffs, but with a goaltending situation as fragile as ever, and a vital player banged up, there’s cause for concern. Draisaitl currently sits fourth in the entire league with 97 points in 65 games, and if he has to miss multiple games, divisional foes Seattle and San Jose may make them uncomfortable in the final stretch of the campaign.
The Oilers are a tale of two extremes, surrendering 232 goals which has them right among the worst in the league, but simultaneously sitting second in ones forced with 238. As a result they’ve ended up perfectly in the middle of the league, 16th, and third in the Pacific.
Edmonton hosts a possible playoff-snatcher in San Jose tomorrow night. Apparently set to do so without Draisaitl, they must shore things up defensively. Giving up 3.4 goals per game, simply out-scoring their issues will be much more difficult. It’s a feeling not foreign to the Oilers throughout the Connor McDavid/Draisaitl era, but at some point, something has to give if they’ll make a third straight run and finally get over the hump.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Canucks head coach Adam Foote shared news to reporters, including Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province/Sun, that Nils Höglander will return tomorrow against Florida. The forward had missed the club’s last two games as a scratch, although injuries have also been a factor. 2025-26 has been a year to forget for the 25-year-old, who suffered a lower-body injury in the preseason, unable to play until December. Ever since then he’s hardly moved the needle with just three points in 25 games, and averaging the lowest ice time of his career. Höglander still has solid possession metrics, indicating he remains useful at even strength. A 24-goal scorer two years ago, the 5’9” winger will try to finish the season on a strong note. He has security, holding a contract which is signed through 2027-28, and could turn things around in a lower pressure environment across the coming years.
- Another update came earlier today, this time from Vegas as Jonas Røndbjerg has resumed skating, relayed by the Review Journal’s Danny Webster. The 26-year-old is not the most recognizable name, but unfortunately his lower-body injury sustained in early February cost him a chance to play on Team Denmark at the Olympics. It’s worth mentioning that it was caused by Anaheim’s Radko Gudas, a player who has been in the headlines of late for his questionable play. Nonetheless, Røndbjerg has skated in just four games for Vegas in 2025-26, notching an assist. He was part of Vegas’ inaugural 2017 draft class, chosen in the third round, since then becoming a key player for AHL Henderson over the years. Røndbjerg has chipped in 11 points across 80 total games for the Golden Knights as a fill-in option with limited usage.
Golden Knights Sign Bronson Ride
The Golden Knights have added some size to the back end in their prospect pool. The team announced that they’ve signed blueliner Bronson Ride to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal, which begins next season, were not disclosed.
The 21-year-old went undrafted in his three years of eligibility despite his six-foot-seven stature. However, Vegas had some familiarity with Ride as he took part in both their development and rookie camps last year. Clearly, he showed enough there to be monitored and has done enough this season to earn a contract.
Ride is in his fifth and final season at the OHL level and his third campaign with North Bay. He has four goals and 17 assists in 57 games, setting new career highs in assists and points. However, he’s more of a stay-at-home defender so offensive production won’t be his calling card at the professional level.
The Battalion are all but locked into a four-five matchup heading into the upcoming playoffs with the only question being who the home team will be between them and Oshawa. Once North Bay’s postseason run ends, Ride will be eligible to join AHL Henderson if the Silver Knights are still playing at that time.
Golden Knights To Activate Mark Stone
The Vegas Golden Knights will have their captain back tonight. According to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Golden Knights will activate Mark Stone from the injured reserve ahead of tonight’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he’ll make his return to the lineup.
Stone is only one week removed from being placed on the injured reserve, although it was made retroactive to March 1st. He has been managing an upper-body injury, his second of the season, that has affected his games played.
The 33-year-old winger has been exceptional for Vegas this year when healthy. Despite missing 22 games due to injury, Stone remains third on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 60 points with a +17 rating. Given how the team has been playing lately, they could certainly use a boost to the lineup.
Since returning from the Olympics, the Golden Knights have managed a 2-6-0 record, dropping to third place in the Pacific Division. During that stretch, the team has only managed 2.38 GF/G, meaning an influx of offense from Stone will be welcomed.
Assuming Stone can remain healthy for Vegas’ 17 remaining games in the 2025-26 season, he should help the team capture its fifth Pacific Division title. At the time of writing, the Golden Knights are three points back of the Anaheim Ducks and tied with the Edmonton Oilers, although the Oilers have the edge in a tiebreaker.
Still, even if Vegas is unable to finish atop the Pacific Division, they shouldn’t be in any danger of falling out of the postseason conversation. Despite their recent performance, the team holds a five-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings, along with five additional wins in regulation.