The idea of William Karlsson in a Montreal Canadiens sweater might make sense on paper, but the Golden Knights have a lot more to lose than they’d gain by moving him.
Nick Lariviere of The Sick Podcast floated the notion of a Karlsson deal, framing it as a stopgap answer for Montreal’s search for a center while also helping Vegas clean up its cap situation. In his view, the Canadiens could use a player like Karlsson while the Golden Knights work to get under the cap before the end of the offseason.
“The Canadiens are still hard at work looking for that centre that could be a fit for the team, either for the long term or as a stopgap until their top prospect is ready to take on that role. In terms of stopgap options, there may be no easier option to get than Karlsson.
He may not be the most skilled option on the market for the Habs, but the Vegas Golden Knights desperately need to shed cap space before the end of the off-season, as they are currently $8,611,182 over the cap for the 2026-27 campaign. It could be solved by putting Alex Pietrangelo‘s $8.8 million cap hit on LTIR, but they won’t be able to have much movement salary-wise if they go that route and therefore should look to move salary out.
This is where a player like Karlsson could be an option to be a cap casualty.”
Nick Lariviere
On the surface, it’s easy to see why the conversation keeps coming up. Karlsson is 33, has dealt with a pile of injuries over the last couple of seasons, and his offense cratered in 2025-26 with four goals and three assists. That kind of production naturally invites trade chatter.
But the Golden Knights don’t use Karlsson only for scoring. They need him in the dirty work moments that decide games.
His career faceoff winning percentage sits at 51.3%, and he was even better in 2024-25 at 58.1%. When a game is on the line and the extra attacker is coming over the boards, that’s the kind of center you want taking the draw.
He matters just as much on the penalty kill. Vegas lost a significant part of that unit this offseason, including Colton Sissons, and the group that finished tied for sixth last season at 81.4% now needs help. Karlsson’s faceoff ability and active stick make him a key piece of that puzzle, not a luxury the Golden Knights can easily afford to subtract.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon has already made moves to open up space, including dealing Keegan Kolesar and Kaedan Korczak. So yes, the cap pressure is real.
But moving Karlsson would mean giving up one of the team’s most useful defensive forwards and thinning out the depth even more. For Vegas, that’s a steep price to pay just to make the numbers look cleaner.
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Anaheims decision to match Philadelphias five-year, $18 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson only sharpened the contrast around the leagues cap-strapped teams, especially for clubs trying to keep a young core intact without painting themselves into a corner. The Ducks now have to sort through the ripple effects of that move, and it serves as another reminder of how quickly a promising roster can become a salary-cap puzzle when the next contract comes due.
For Vegas, the situation reads a little differently. The Golden Knights have already shown a willingness to walk away from a young players price when it gets too rich, and they have been just as firm about moving on from Akira Schmid rather than forcing a fit. Those kinds of decisions can look conservative in the moment, but they also help explain why Vegas has stayed cleaner than some of the teams now staring at a cap trap, with room to keep maneuvering while others are forced into harder choices. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Cannot Risk Losing These Core Pieces Next Summer
The Golden Knights have already shown they are willing to make hard roster decisions, moving on from players with bigger contracts as they keep reshaping the cap picture. That makes the next wave of business just as important, because the team cannot afford to let every useful veteran or emerging piece drift toward the open market at the same time.
Mark Stone still looms as the most complicated case, with William Karlsson continuing to matter in ways that go beyond scoring and Nic Dowd fitting the kind of dependable, low-drama role teams hate to replace. Braeden Bowman adds a different wrinkle after a promising first full look, and his production has only sharpened the sense that Vegas may already have part of its next core in house if it handles the summer correctly. [Read more 🡒]