Report: No timeline for Golden Knights’ William Karlsson’s return, injury could end season
The return of Wild Bill seems to be a longer ways off than Vegas Golden Knights fans would hope.
According to SinBin.vegas, Golden Knights forward William Karlsson won’t be ready to return from his lower-body injury when the NHL resumes its schedule on February 25th following the 19-day break for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. There is a chance his injury could require surgery, which would keep him out for the remainder of this season, including the playoffs.
According to multiple sources, William Karlsson will not be available to VGK when NHL play begins following the Olympics, and he's highly unlikely to be ready before the Trade Deadline on March 6th. There is a reasonable chance he does not play again this season (including the
Karlsson, 33, has not played since November 8th. He also missed the majority of Vegas’ training camp this season while dealing with an injury that he played through last postseason. While the exact nature of Karlsson’s current injury is unknown, it’s very possibly related to this previous ailment.
If not for this injury, Karlsson, who hails from Marsta, Sweden, would have been a shoo-in to play for the Swedish national team in the men’s hockey tournament at the upcoming Winter Olympics. It would have been Karlsson’s first time playing in the Olympics.
Perhaps no player embodies the incredible success of the expansion Golden Knights franchise more than Karlsson. After three season split between the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets, Vegas selected Karlsson in their 2017 Expansion Draft after he was left exposed by Columbus. He went on the have an tremendous first season with the Golden Knights, putting up 43 goals and 35 assists for 78 points in 82 games. He then had seven goals and eight assists during Vegas’ cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Karlsson has remained with the Golden Knights as they’ve evolved from scrappy newcomer to perennial powerhouse, including winning the Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023. He is the franchise’s all-time second-leading scorer behind Jonathan Marchessault, with 165 goals and 238 assists for 403 points in 569 games played as a Golden Knight.