Golden Knights Place William Karlsson on LTIR, Recall Three
The Vegas Golden Knights are spending their final days before the 4-Nations Face-Off break by jumping through salary cap hoops. They’ve announced a litany of roster moves intended to maximize their cap space accrued from long-term injured reserve, all captured by PuckPedia. Vegas first recalled winger Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid, then reassigned center Raphael Lavoie. Those moves placed them $135K under the cap ceiling. Vegas then placed top center William Karlsson on long-term injured reserve and recalled forward Jonas Rondbjerg, which they wouldn’t have been able to afford without shelving Karlsson. By recalling two players and getting as close to the cap ceiling as they could before moving Karlsson, Vegas maximized the amount of LTIR cap relief they were provided. They now sit with $5.133MM in available cap space, but will be one contract’s worth of cap over the limit when Karlsson is back to full health.
The string of moves were a great exercise in how to leverage the NHL’s LTIR policies, but Vegas will still be worse for wear without Karlsson. The 32-year-old centerman hasn’t played since January 20th, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues. He was immediately ruled out week-to-week, and the team still didn’t have a clear timeline for his return 10 days later. An LTIR placement will now force him out of the lineup through at least February 24th, the second game after Vegas returns from break.
Karlsson has continued to serve as a top center for the Golden Knights, but his season has been filled with abnormal scoring struggles. He has just 18 points in 38 games on the year, and was amidst a seven-game scoring slump prior to his injury. Karlsson has one assist in 10 games since the start of 2025. He’s still provided strong performances for the Golden Knights away from the scoresheet. He currently sits with a fantastic 58.9 percent faceoff win-rate that ranks Karlsson fifth among all NHL centers. Karlsson has also recorded 89 shots on goal and a plus-seven, respectively ranking him third and fifth among the team’s forwards.
Those numbers represent an impact that’ll be hard for Vegas to replace. Their flurry of moves leaves the task of filling in up to Rondbjerg and Holtz. The latter has far-and-away been the more popular fixture of Vegas’ lineup. Holtz has scored 11 points in 49 games this season, while Rondbjerg hasn’t yet scored through 10 appearances. The duo should both earn ice-time on Vegas’ left wing while the team deals with absences to Karlsson, Lavoie, Cole Schwindt, and Tanner Pearson.
Golden Knights Place Tanner Pearson On Injured Reserve
The Golden Knights have placed left-winger Tanner Pearson on injured reserve, per Sin Ben Vegas. Pearson, who missed Tuesday’s loss to the Islanders with an undisclosed injury, has been ruled out for the team’s final two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Knights now have an open roster spot – they previously had one before the transaction, but recalled Jonas Røndbjerg from AHL Henderson today to replace Pearson on the active roster, per the NHL’s media site. He’ll join the team for tonight’s game in New Jersey and have to suit up unless they plan on dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Pearson, 32, landed a PTO with Vegas and eventually signed a one-year, league-minimum deal a few days before the start of the regular season. The 12-year veteran started the season on a high note with seven points in 11 games, but he’s been colder since then, with 12 points in 42 appearances since the beginning of November. He’s been especially cold lately, posting an assist and a minus-eight rating in his last 14 showings. He’s lost ice time and been pushed down the depth chart after the team inked Brandon Saad following his mutual termination with the Blues last week.
The 2014 Stanley Cup champion has a 9-10–19 scoring line in 53 games for Vegas on the whole, his best offensive showing since he scored 14-20–34 in 68 GP with the Canucks in 2021-22. Pearson lost most of the 2022-23 season with Vancouver due to a lingering hand injury and struggled to the tune of 5-8–13 in 54 games with the Canadiens last year.
His injury did force Vegas to roll 11-7 against the Isles, and it’s still unclear when he sustained it. Pending RFA Alexander Holtz should get a look in the top nine with Pearson out, as he’s projected to skate alongside Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomáš Hertl tonight against his former club. He’s back with the club after the team quietly assigned him to Henderson over the course of the past couple of weeks, although he never suited up for the minor-league club.
Røndjberg has played fourth-line spot duty again for Vegas this year, entering the lineup nine times. He’s still looking for his first point of the year but has secured his fourth straight season of NHL playing time with the Knights, who drafted him 65th overall back in 2017. The Danish winger has 7-8–15 in 32 games with Henderson.
Golden Knights Sign Brandon Saad
The Golden Knights have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with winger Brandon Saad after he officially clears unconditional waivers and became a UFA at 1:00 pm CT, per a team announcement. It’s worth a prorated $1.5MM for the remainder of the season, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Saad fills the veteran scoring winger need that Vegas was looking to address before the trade deadline. That need has been exacerbated in recent weeks with long-term injuries to William Karlsson and Cole Schwindt, forcing players like Raphael Lavoie and Keegan Kolesar to step into top-nine roles. They fill the hole without giving anything up aside from cap space, which they were tight on before today’s move with Karlsson and Schwindt on standard IR.
Unless they make a corresponding transaction, Karlsson will likely be transferred to LTIR if he’s not expected back before the 4 Nations Face-Off. If he is, Schwindt and his $800K cap hit have been out of the lineup longer, making a retroactive placement easier. Just Schwindt’s relief will likely be enough to accommodate Saad’s cap hit on the roster, especially with SinBin Vegas reporting they’ve returned Callahan Burke to AHL Henderson today.
Saad gives the Golden Knights immediate top-nine help, and they’re hoping a rebound in shooting percentage accompanies his arrival. Amid trade rumors for a good portion of the season, his underwhelming start to the 2024-25 campaign with the Blues included a career-worst -14 rating and a 9.3% shooting rate that he’s only underperformed once. The seven-time 20-goal scorer only had seven tallies through 43 games as a result, production he’ll look to jumpstart in Vegas after posting 26 goals just one season ago.
The Knights were likely one of a few teams interested in acquiring Saad from St. Louis via trade but couldn’t work out a deal. He had one season left after this one on his previous contract with a $4.5MM cap hit. With that obstacle out of the way following his mutual termination, Saad gets a fresh start – albeit on a significant discount on his previous price point – and the Knights get their desired piece.
A strong finish to the season could allow Saad to recoup his lost market value on the open market this summer, potentially even sniffing his previous AAV on a short-term deal if he can prove he can still produce at a 20-goal pace.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Kevin Weekes of ESPN was first to report the Golden Knights were signing Saad.
Golden Knights Recall Cal Burke
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Cal Burke from the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL and he will play tonight when Vegas takes on the Columbus Blue Jackets (as per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). The 27-year-old had a brief stint with the Golden Knights in November, dressing in six games and notching a single goal while averaging 11:04 of ice time per game. The Golden Knights heavily sheltered Burke’s minutes at the time, giving him offensive zone starts in nearly 80% of his shifts.
Burke’s recall will push another recent recall Raphael Lavoie to the left side and allow him to play on the third line, while Burke is expected to play right wing on the fourth line alongside Tanner Pearson and Brett Howden.
The recall also pushes Jonas Rondbjerg to the bench after he played very well a few nights ago. Rondbjerg is pushing up against his waiver-exempt games limit which may have factored into the decision. While he played well, Rondbjerg hasn’t had any offensive impact this season with zero points in nine games, and Vegas may be looking elsewhere to see if another player can provide an immediate impact.
Burke is having a poor offensive season in the AHL compared to previous years, his seven goals and six assists in 34 games represent a significant drop from last season’s numbers when he had 39 points (16 goals and 23 assists) in 57 games.
Golden Knights Recall Raphael Lavoie
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from the minor leagues, per a video of him at team practice on Vegas’ Twitter/X. The move was confirmed by The Daily Faceoff, who added that Lavoie is expected to make his season debut on Tuesday.
Lavoie was the subject of a sparring match between Vegas and Edmonton in the days leading up to the 2024-25 season. In a matter of five days, he was placed on waivers by Edmonton and claimed by Vegas; waived by Vegas and claimed by Edmonton; and then needed waived again by Edmonton since the Golden Knights were one of two teams to put in an original claim. Vegas was then able to put in a second claim and assign Lavoie to the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, where he’s been ever since.
After a winding path to land in Henderson and a slow start to the year, Lavoie finally seems to be finding his footing with the Silver Knights. He has nine points, 33 penalty minutes, and a +9 through his last 10 games, including the game-winning overtime goal in Henderson’s Saturday win over Colorado. Lavoie has more than doubled his scoring with the hot streak, moving up to 16 points in 29 games this season. The Golden Knights seem poised to reward his hard work as they plan to award him just the eighth NHL game of his career. Lavoie played in seven games with the Oilers last November, but failed to manage any scoring and received under 10 minutes of ice time in each game. He closed out the 2023-24 campaign by going on a tear in the minor leagues, finishing the year third on the Bakersfield Condors in scoring with 50 points in 66 games. At just 24, Lavoie now represents another low-risk, high-upside winger for the Golden Knights to mold.
Canada’s Alex Pietrangelo Withdraws From 4 Nations Face-Off
The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has chosen to withdraw from the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off to tend to what they describe as an “ailment” and prepare for the remaining season.
Pietrangelo has appeared in 46 of Vegas’ 49 games this season, having missed six days of action with an upper-body injury in November. He’s otherwise been as consistent as they come, averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time and serving roles on both of Vegas’ special teams. He ranks second among the team’s blue-line in scoring with 25 points in 46 games, confidently behind Shea Theodore‘s 44 points. Pietrangelo also ranks second on the team in blocked shots with 87. Even at the age of 35, Pietrangelo has continued to serve in a premier role for the Golden Knights.
Pietrangelo was named to Team Canada’s 4-Nations Face-Off roster on December 3rd, alongside Golden Knights teammate Theodore and former St. Louis Blues teammate Colton Parayko. The trio made up half of a blue-line that also featured Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, and Travis Sanheim. With Pietrangelo opting to withdraw, Canada will have to go back to the drawing board to find their final defender. Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton, and San Jose’s Jake Walman lead all available options in NHL scoring.
The reasons for Pietrangelo’s withdrawal seem unclear. He has shown no signs of injury through the recent stretch and has even recorded an assist in four of Vegas’ last five games. Pietrangelo is also signed through the end of the 2026-27 season, giving him a reasonable chance at making Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics with a strong showing at the 4-Nations tournament. But he’ll now back out to keep his sights on Vegas’ success. The Golden Knights currently rank third in the Western Conference and fourth in the NHL with 64 points. They seem clearly in sight of a playoff berth, where they’ll get a chance to chase their second Stanley Cup in the last three years. Pietrangelo also won a Cup in St. Louis.
Golden Knights’ William Karlsson Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury
11:31 a.m.: Laczynski has been recalled from AHL Henderson along with winger Brendan Brisson, the team announced. The pair of recalls indicates both Karlsson and Schwindt have been placed on IR. This is the first recall for the 23-year-old Brisson since October, after he went pointless in seven games to begin the year. The 2020 first-rounder has struggled with just four goals and 14 points in 31 AHL games since his demotion.
10:48 a.m.: The Golden Knights announced Thursday that center William Karlsson will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Karlsson, 32, also missed the first eight regular season games with an undisclosed injury. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote this morning that there’s been a lingering injury bothering Karlsson that could prevent him from suiting up for Sweden in next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off, so it stands to reason the two are related.
One of three players remaining on Vegas’ roster from their inaugural season, Karlsson has operated as the Knights’ third-line center when healthy in 2024-25. With the reduction in role has come a slight decrease in minutes, with his 17:11 ATOI clocking in as his lowest during his Vegas tenure by a slight margin.
Likely due to a combination of his reduction in power-play usage and his nagging injury, this season has been a tough one for Karlsson offensively. He’s scored seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points through 38 games, down sharply from last year’s resurgent 30-goal, 60-point campaign.
Karlsson has remained valuable to Vegas in other ways. He’s winning faceoffs at a career-best 58.9% rate, leading the team. He also grades out as their top defensive forward this season, recording team-best marks at even strength in CF% (54.8) and GA/60 (1.8), the latter of which only leads Knights forwards.
The alternate captain’s absence is a big one for the Golden Knights, who will likely turn to Nicolas Roy to increase his minutes at even strength and on the penalty kill to compensate. Roy’s point production isn’t dissimilar to Karlsson’s this season, but his defensive play is a sizeable downgrade. Vegas allows 3.2 GA/60 at even strength with Roy on the ice, and his Corsi share while shorthanded is the worst among the team’s regular penaltykillers.
Vegas has a full active roster, and they also received news Tuesday that depth forward Cole Schwindt carries a week-to-week designation with a lower-body issue. One of them will presumably land on injured reserve today to allow the Knights to recall a forward for tonight’s game against the Blues. Tanner Laczynski, a natural center with a goal in six appearances for Vegas earlier this season, is the likeliest recall option.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Golden Knights’ Cole Schwindt Out Week-To-Week, Brett Howden Questionable
The Vegas Golden Knights received a few injury updates at Tuesday morning’s practice, each captured by Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Most notably, head coach Bruce Cassidy shared that right-winger Cole Schwindt will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Schwindt was injured in the second period of Vegas’ Saturday matchup against Chicago. He struggled to place weight on his left leg after an awkward tie-up with Blackhawks defender Seth Jones sent him awkwardly into the boards. Schwindt was listed as out for Vegas’ proceeding Monday match against St. Louis, and could now miss the short future.
The Golden Knights claimed Schwindt off of waivers from the Calgary Flames before the start of the season. He’s since served as the team’s extra forward, routinely rotating into a role on the Vegas fourth-line. That’s certainly an achievement for Schwindt, who has spent the last four seasons in the minor leagues. He earned seven NHL games through that stretch – but, aside from one minor penalty, never appeared on the scoresheet. That’s changed slightly with his more confident role in Vegas, though Schwindt has only recorded seven assists and is still searching for his first NHL goal through 38 games this season. Schwindt has received roughly nine minutes of ice time each game, on average, which should make his hole in the lineup seamless to replace for the short-term.
Vegas may also need to replace bottom-six centerman Brett Howden in their next game, as he’s listed as questionable with an illness. Howden is averaging more minutes, and scoring more points, than he has ever before – with 22 points in 47 games and just over 15 minutes of ice time each game. He’s one point shy of tying his career high of 23 points – which he recorded in 66 games with the New York Rangers during his rookie 2018-19 campaign. Howden has been largely a role player ever since, routinely posting a faceoff percentage around 48 percent and scoring below 20 points. He’s breaking out of that shell this season and could be the beneficiary of more minutes in Schwindt’s absence. That is, once Howden is back to full health.
Golden Knights Expected To Activate Ivan Barbashev
The Golden Knights will likely activate winger Ivan Barbashev off injured reserve before Saturday’s game against the Rangers after he was a full participant in practice on Friday, SinBin.vegas reports. The club opened up a roster spot in advance by assigning winger Jonas Røndbjerg to AHL Henderson, according to a team announcement.
Barbashev, 29, last played nearly one month ago and has missed 10 games with an upper-body injury. Both he and Nicolas Roy left a Dec. 15 win over the Wild prematurely and haven’t played since, and the latter still has a bit to go in his recovery before he’s ready to return.
The league-leading Knights took the loss of one-third of their top line in stride, managing an 8-2-0 record without Barbashev in the lineup while outscoring opponents 35-19. Victor Olofsson assumed Barbashev’s spot alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, notching a pair of goals and three assists in nine games in the interim.
The Barbashev-Eichel connection this season has been lethal at even strength, contributing to the former tracking right around a point per game through the first half of the year – by far the best pace of his career. He has 15 goals and 30 points in 31 appearances, with just one of those points coming on special teams.
Barbashev is now in his third season in Nevada after the Knights acquired him from the Blues ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. He played a key role in Vegas’ first-ever Stanley Cup in 2023, posting 18 points in 22 playoff games, and has also managed 91 points in 136 regular-season contests since arriving with the Knights.
Needless to say, he’s providing important positive value on his $5MM cap-hit contract for Vegas this season. He’s in the second season of that five-year extension, which he signed weeks after winning the Cup.
Røndbjerg, 25, had played in the Knights’ last five games after being recalled from Henderson shortly before New Year’s. He added those onto two appearances earlier in the year, bringing his season totals to no points and a minus-one rating in seven appearances while averaging a paltry 8:57 per game.
It’s the Danish winger’s fourth year of seeing NHL ice, and he’s posted 10 points in 70 career games while serving in a depth call-up role. A third-round pick in Vegas’ first draft in 2017, he also has 103 points in 205 NHL games since arriving in North America in 2019.
Nicolas Roy Practices In No-Contact Jersey
Murat Ates of The Athletic expects the Winnipeg Jets to check in on Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Jets have had interest in the 30-year-old in the past and Ates thinks they could take another look at him in hopes of boosting their blueline.
Winnipeg doesn’t have a ton of draft capital in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, having moved several picks out the door in previous trades. The Jets likely wouldn’t need to move a first-round pick to acquire Ristolainen and would probably scoff if that was the cost of acquiring him from Philadelphia.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy practiced today in a no-contact jersey (as per SinBin.vegas). Roy has been out of action since December 15th with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old’s injury progressed unusually after he was first given a maintenance day and then missed several practices and eventually a game. A short time later he was put on the injured reserve and has been there since. Roy had a career year last season, posting 13 goals and 28 assists in 70 games but wasn’t able to carry the momentum into this year as he had a slow start with just six goals and seven assists in 31 games.
- San Jose Sharks forward Carl Grundstrom was a full participant in practice today (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). The 27-year-old suffered an undisclosed injury on December 28th in a game against the Calgary Flames but is reportedly close to returning. The Umea, Sweden native has been used sparingly in 30 games, averaging just nine minutes of ice time per game. The former second-round pick has a goal and four assists and will likely return to a spot in the team’s bottom six when he is healthy.