It appears that Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson will be starting the season on injured reserve.
The Golden Knights confirmed their season-opening roster prior to Monday’s 5 p.m. EST deadline, and with Karlsson not on the list, it means that he has been moved to IR to start the season.
Karlsson suffered an injury during training camp, and his status has been up in the air since their opening game of the preseason. The type of injury or the severity of it remains undisclosed to the public as of this time.
Karlsson is coming off of his best season in years, where he had 30 goals and 30 assists for 60 points in 70 games for the Golden Knights. It’s the first time that Karlsson has hit both the 30-goal mark and the 60-point mark in a season since Vegas’ inaugural season in 2017-18 where he had 43 goals and 78 points.
Karlsson’s production did drop off in the playoffs though, as he had just 2 assists in 7 games as the Golden Knights were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Stars.
Karlsson was originally a second-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2011 NHL Draft, making his NHL debut in the 2014-15 season before being dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline that year as part of the return for James Wisniewski. He then spent parts of three seasons in Columbus before he was selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft. He is now entering his eighth season in Vegas, where he’s won a Lady Byng Trophy in 2018 and a Stanley Cup in 2023.
Karlsson is entering the sixth season of an eight-year contract with a $5.9 million contract, one he signed with the Golden Knights in the summer of 2019.
The Golden Knights will look to start their season off on the right foot when they host the Colorado Avalanche in Vegas on Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST.
