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William Karlsson And Jonas Rondbjerg To Play In World Championship

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While the Golden Knights saw their playoff run come to an end when they were eliminated by Edmonton earlier this week, at least two of their players will see their season continue for at least a few more days.  The team announced (Twitter link) that center William Karlsson will join Sweden and winger Jonas Rondbjerg will join Denmark for the rest of the World Championship.

Karlsson is coming off a particularly rough year, both in terms of injuries and from a production standpoint.  The 32-year-old was limited to just nine goals and 20 assists in 53 games during the regular season.  He produced at a similar rate in the playoffs, picking up three goals and three helpers in their 11 contests.  With Sweden co-hosting the event this year, they have a strong roster and Karlsson will certainly give them a boost heading into the medal round.

As for Rondbjerg, he spent the bulk of the year with AHL Henderson but did get into 13 games with Vegas where he was held off the scoresheet.  While he hasn’t been able to crack their lineup full-time, he has seen action with the Golden Knights for the last four years, spanning 76 games in total.  Meanwhile, with the Silver Knights, the 26-year-old had 11 goals and 15 assists in 53 games.  While pending free agents often don’t play in this event, Rondbjerg will be an exception as he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency this summer.  He wasted little time flying over for the event as he scored today against Norway.

Earlier today, it was revealed that center Tomas Hertl had hoped to play for the Czechs but didn’t receive medical clearance from team doctors.  It remains to be seen if any other Golden Knights will head over for the final half of the tournament with the medal round set to start on Thursday.

Hertl Not Cleared To Play At Worlds

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  • Czechia won’t be getting one of their top players for a late-tournament addition. Hokej.cz’s Jakub Ruc relays that Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl did not receive medical clearance from the team to permit him to play the final few games of the event.  Hertl suffered an upper-body injury late in the regular season and it’s unclear if that’s the injury that will hold him out or if it was something different altogether.  After putting up 32 goals and 29 assists in 73 games this season, Hertl certainly would have been a big addition for the Czechs heading into the medal round.

Depth Wingers Will Define Golden Knights’ Summer

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The Vegas Golden Knights are back in familiar ground – bounced from a hardy playoff run that didn’t have the legs, and gearing up for a summer with minimal cap space. It’s a situation the young franchise has already landed in, and weaseled out of, multiple times before – but the 2025 summer will offer a particular challenge. Vegas is only projected to have $9.62MM in cap space this summer, per PuckPedia. They’ll have to use that money to redefine the bottom-six, with seven different depth wingers all set to hit the open market this summer.

Some of those pending free agents should be easy to re-sign. Jonas Rondbjerg has averaged just 19 NHL games a season over the last four years, and has just 10 points in 76 career games to show for it. He’s a bump-and-grind AHL winger who shouldn’t cost more than league-minimum to re-up. Much of the same can be said for Cole Schwindt, who seemed mounted for a breakout with 42 NHL games this year, but ended the year with only eight points.

But the mission quickly gets complicated as Vegas looks to parse through the remaining names. Original Golden Knight Reilly Smith seems destined on re-signing with the club, after making a return from the New York Rangers at the 2025 Trade Deadline. He scored 69 points in 134 games in one-and-a-half seasons away from Sin City, and closed the season with 15 points in 32 games in a muddied role with the Golden Knights. Smith had a career-year in his last full season with Vegas – netting 26 goals and 56 points in the Cup-winning 2022-23 season – and age hasn’t seemed to slow him down one bit. With only a few years left in his career, a modest deal for both sides could ensure Smith plays his 1,000th career game, and retires, in the city he’s spent the bulk of his NHL career.

Victor Olofsson also seems worthy of another trial run. He wasn’t nearly as productive as Vegas might’ve hoped for last summer, but 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games is still a commendable season. That put Olofsson on an 82-game pace of 22 goals and 42 points, which would have been the most he’s scored since notching his career-high 49 points in the 2021-22 season. Olofsson also made the first playoff appearance of his career this season, and managed a commendable four points in nine games. Those are impressive results for a man receiving a $1.08MM salary. An assured role will likely require a boost in pay, but Vegas could hold onto good value even with a slight raise.

Smith and Olofsson could take up the bulk of what Vegas is hoping to spend on building out their bottom-six. That could leave a tough decision between Brandon Saad and Alexander Holtz, with pros and cons underlining each. Saad is a true veteran of the NHL and managed 14 points in 29 games with the Golden Knights while battling around routine injuries. He’s scored more than 20 goals and 40 points in two of the last four seasons – intercut by a season of 37 points and 30 points. Those aren’t bad numbers for a 32-year-old winger, especially one with Stanley Cup precedent and game-1,000 nearing.

Holtz is on the other side of his career, with just 46 points in 163 career games and a career-high of 28 points set last season. He only scored 12 points in 53 games this year, as he continued to struggle for ground in the lineup through a move to the Golden Knights. But Holtz was a seventh-overall pick just five years ago, and is still anticipating a breakout season. He’s under more team control as a restricted free agent, and would be a cheaper buy than Saad, but also brings plenty more risk to a Golden Knights club closer to another Stanley Cup run than any sort of rebuild.

Three modestly priced extensions, and a pair of league-minimum deals, will give Vegas plenty to work with as they build a lineup for next season. It also leaves just enough room for a cheap free agent addition. Any re-signed wingers would bolster the flanks behind Pavel Dorofeyev, Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Roy, and Brett Howden – giving Vegas a very similar makeup to what they’ve rolled out for the last few seasons. But in deciding who to bring back, the Golden Knights will be laying out their preferences between original heritage, shooting luck, veteran presence, and young potential. What they make of those profiles could go a long way in defining Vegas’ chances at maintaining their yearly playoff presence in the seasons to come.

Photo courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Reilly Smith Wants To Re-Sign With Golden Knights

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  • If veteran winger Reilly Smith has his way, he’d remain with the Vegas Golden Knights beyond this season (Tweet Link). Even with a few players coming off the books in a few weeks, it’ll be incredibly challenging to find a spot for Smith next year. The Golden Knights already have $85.885MM committed to next year’s roster, and they’d need Smith to take a hefty pay cut to make the money work.

    [SOURCE LINK]
  • If veteran winger Reilly Smith has his way, he’d remain with the Vegas Golden Knights beyond this season (Tweet Link). Even with a few players coming off the books in a few weeks, it’ll be incredibly challenging to find a spot for Smith next year. The Golden Knights already have $85.885MM committed to next year’s roster, and they’d need Smith to take a hefty pay cut to make the money work.

Golden Knights, Jack Eichel Have Had Preliminary Extension Talks

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The Golden Knights and star center Jack Eichel had “loose, unofficial discussions at various points this season” in advance of him becoming eligible to sign an extension with Vegas on July 1, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Official talks between Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon and Eichel’s camp should begin in short order after Vegas’ season came to an end this week at the hands of the Oilers in the second round. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a max-term deal for the 28-year-old come across the wire when the new league year begins – Pagnotta went so far as to call an Eichel extension the top priority for Vegas this summer over the futures of any of their pending free agents.

The deal will undoubtedly be the richest in franchise history when signed, topping captain Mark Stone’s eight-year, $76MM extension doled out in 2019. Eichel will be entering the final season of the eight-year, $80MM deal he signed with the Sabres before his entry-level contract expired – of course, Vegas acquired him midway through that deal in a blockbuster swap in 2021.

The 2015 No. 2 overall pick will enter talks well-equipped, coming off the best season of his career by a significant margin. An all-situations center for Vegas, he recorded new career highs in assists (66), points (94), and rating (+32) while playing the most of any Knights forward and leading the team in scoring. Now over three years removed from artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck – the first NHLer to undergo the procedure – he’s back to being the well-above-a-point-per-game producer he hinted at before the injury in Buffalo.

With the salary cap’s projected aggressive rise over the next few seasons, there’s a case for Eichel to earn a multi-million-dollar raise over his current $10MM cap hit. A potential comparable is Leafs winger William Nylander, who signed an eight-year extension with an $11.5MM cap hit midway through the 2023-24 season. Both players have scored at a 90-point pace over an 82-game schedule over the last three years combined. Nylander signed for just over 13% of the cap – with next year’s $95.5MM figure set in stone, that would translate to a $12.5MM AAV for Eichel on a max-term deal.

Unfortunately for the Knights, they don’t have any big-ticket contracts coming off the books before Eichel’s extension would go into effect in 2026-27. Stone’s ($9.5MM cap hit) and Alex Pietrangelo’s ($8.8MM cap hit) deals, the next two richest on the team, both expire in the summer of 2027.

Image courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Mark Stone Out For Game 5

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8:20 p.m.: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Stone is not taking warm-ups for Vegas, indirectly confirming he won’t play tonight.

3:50 p.m.: Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is tracking toward being held out of a must-win Game 5 tonight against the Oilers due to an undisclosed injury, SinBin.vegas relays. He’s presumably still dealing with the effects of the upper-body injury he sustained early in Game 3 that made him a game-time decision for Game 4.

Stone ended up playing Monday’s contest but hasn’t practiced with the team since. He departed Game 3 in the first period shortly after appearing to take Oilers winger Corey Perry’s skate to his left wrist.

After eclipsing the point per game mark in the regular season for the third time in his career, Stone has remained a pivotal top-line piece for Vegas in the playoffs. He’s played all 10 games thus far and leads the team with four goals. His four assists give him eight points, second on the team behind Jack Eichel’s nine. He’s the only Knights winger averaging over 20 minutes per game, although his usually high-end two-way impacts haven’t held up. Vegas is still controlling 50.6% of shot attempts with Stone on the ice at even strength, but that’s only 14th out of 20 Knights skaters to suit up in the postseason.

Victor Olofsson will take Stone’s spot on Eichel’s right wing as the Knights, down 3-1 in the series, look to avoid their season ending tonight, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. They’ll be joined by Brett Howden on the top line while usual Eichel/Stone linemate Ivan Barbashev gives them some scoring depth on the third line with William Karlsson and Reilly Smith.

They’ll also remain without in-season pickup Brandon Saad, who had two assists through eight playoff games but missed Games 3 and 4 with a lower-body injury. According to SinBin.Vegas, he’s not expected back unless the Knights rally back and advance to the Western Conference Final.

Stefan Matteau Announces Retirement

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Longtime minor-leaguer Stefan Matteau has retired, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced Monday.

Matteau, 31, had spent the last two seasons on AHL deals with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate. Injuries limited him to only four goals and 13 points in 30 games during that time, but he did dress as the team’s captain when healthy in 2024-25 and contributed seven points in 15 games.

The son of former NHLer Stephane Matteau kicked off his professional career with a bang. A versatile 6’2″, 207-lb forward with good skating and a heavy-hitting game, he went 29th overall to the Devils in the 2012 draft. His post-draft season was peculiar – he was recalled midway through the campaign from his junior team, the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He spent two months with the Devils before finishing the campaign in juniors again. That initial stretch of three points in 17 games in New Jersey for Matteau would end up standing as one of his career’s most extended NHL stretches.

The Illinois native never spent a full season on an NHL roster and bounced between the Devils, Canadiens, Golden Knights, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets over his 13-year professional career that included seven partial seasons of NHL action. He last played with Colorado in the 2021-22 campaign and totaled a 6-5–11 scoring line in 92 appearances with a -18 rating, averaging 10:15 per game.

Matteau spent nearly all of his career on this side of the Atlantic aside from the 2022-23 campaign, which he split between Sweden’s Linköping HC and Germany’s ERC Ingolstadt. He posted 21 points in 35 regular-season games between the two overseas clubs, including 20 in just 19 games with Ingolstadt.

As for his AHL career, the power winger wraps it up with 76-93–169 in 411 games across 10 seasons with 477 PIMs. All of us at PHR wish Matteau the best in retirement.

Golden Knights’ Mark Stone Out Day-To-Day

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While the Vegas Golden Knights came away with a Game Three win over the Edmonton Oilers last night, not all the news out of Vegas was positive. Captain Mark Stone left the game in the first period with an injury and did not return. He is now listed as day-to-day, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The team announced on social media that Stone would not be returning after leaving the game with 6:20 of the first period due to an upper-body injury. The injury occurred when stone collided with Corey Perry in the neutral zone. After remaining down for a brief second, Stone skated back to the bench and did not return. While Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t provide much of an update after the game, he did state that Stone could be available as soon as Game 4. He added that the team would learn more about Stone’s status today.

If Stone does miss time, Cassidy said it provides players like Reilly Smith more of an opportunity to step up. As Cassidy told reporters: “It seemed the guys wanted to pick him up. What it does is allow other players like a Reilly Smith to get more opportunity, and he took advantage of it.”

While the Golden Knights managed to avoid a 3-0 series deficit without Stone, they’ll undoubtedly need their captain—not just for his leadership, but for his proven playoff performance. In 84 career playoff games with Vegas, Stone has posted 36 goals and 72 points, including eight points in nine games this season. As series victory, as well as a deep run in the playoffs, will likely hinge on getting Stone back into the lineup.

Golden Knights’ Nicolas Roy Receives Fine

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8:00 PM: The Department of Player Safety made its ruling and it’s a fine of $7,812.50 for Roy, the maximum allowable under the CBA,

12:44 PM: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today they’re reviewing Golden Knights’ forward Nicolas Roy’s cross-checking penalty in overtime of last night’s Game 2 loss for a potential suspension. Roy will have his hearing tonight after being assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for the initial infraction.

Vegas killed off the five-minute penalty, which Roy committed just over five minutes into the extra frame. After engaging in a board battle with Oilers winger Trent Frederic, Roy lifted his stick for a cross-check and hit Frederic directly in the mouth/jaw area (video via Sportsnet). Frederic left the game for repairs but did return for a shift before Leon Draisaitl secured a 2-0 series lead for Edmonton.

Roy being unavailable is a significant blow to Vegas’ depth forward group. He’s averaged 13:55 per game in the postseason and has a goal and two assists through eight games. The 28-year-old has been the Knights’ best regular faceoff man with a 59.7% win rate. Despite his minus-four rating, Roy’s 57.3% shot-attempt share at even strength ranks fourth on the team.

In the overwhelmingly likely scenario Roy misses at least Game 3, head coach Bruce Cassidy will presumably shift Brett Howden to center and hope winger Pavel Dorofeyev can return after missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury. If not, Cole Schwindt is the only extra forward on the roster who can play center and would presumably enter the lineup in Roy’s place.

Knights Without Dorofeyev For Game 2, Pietrangelo Possible To Return

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9:50 PM: Pietrangelo is in the lineup, skating on the team’s second pairing alongside Nicolas Hague, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

9:20 PM: The Vegas Golden Knights will be without winger Pavel Dorofeyev for their Game 2 matchup against the Oilers, while defender Alex Pietrangelo will be a game time decision, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Dorofeyev has been out of the lineup since sustaining an injury in Game 5 of their opening-round matchup against the Minnesota Wild. His injury remains undisclosed and remains day-to-day. The 24-year-old burst onto the scene this season, scoring 35 goals while playing all 82 regular season games. He surpassed his previous career high in goals by 22 and more than doubled his personal best in points. In the first-round series, he recorded a goal and an assist over five games. His goal scoring prowess would be a welcomed return for the Golden Knights, especially considering the Oilers lead all playoff teams with 4.43 goals per game.

Pietrangelo is currently battling an illness, but head coach Bruce Cassidy said the veteran has a chance to play and that the team would be making a game-time call on his participation.  In 71 games on the season, Pietrangelo posted four goals, 33 points, a plus-11 rating, and 139 blocked shots. Perhaps most importantly, the veteran of more than 1,000 career games also averaged a hefty 22:24 of ice time per game, eating valuable minutes on the back end. The two-time Stanley Cup champ (including one with Vegas) was off to a hot start in the playoffs as well, posting a goal and two assist in six games, while again averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time per night. His return to the lineup is equally important as Dorofeyev’s when it comes to matching up against the star-studded Oilers.

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