There has been no shortage of excellent goal scorers for the Vegas Golden Knights. Names like William Karlsson, Jack Eichel, and Max Pacioretty have provided offensive firepower over the years, giving Vegas hockey fans plenty to cheer about. In turn, it's led to the Golden Knights making the Stanley Cup playoffs in all but one season (2021-22).
Throw in two Stanley Cup Final appearances and a championship and fans have a reason to pack T-Mobile Arena every season. With the season opener on October 9 coming up soon, expect more of the same as Vegas looks to get the arena full of passionate hockey fans in Sin City.
This season, the Golden Knights will look slightly different, with names like Tanner Pearson and Victor Olofsson looking to impress the masses. Their goal? Create more goals and carry on the legacy of previous leaders. It's what any NHL player would do for his team, especially if he can compete for the Stanley Cup.
Speaking of creating goals, who's the single-season leader in this regard? Who was worth their salt as an offensive player for one year with Vegas? This person is still on the team after all these years, showing he's a reliable scoring option for the Golden Knights. Here's the single-season leader for Vegas in this category.
William Karlsson is the single-season leader in goals created for the Vegas Golden Knights
William Karlsson put together the best offensive season for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18. He scored 43 goals and 78 points for the expansion franchise (both single-season franchise records), helping them get to the Stanley Cup Final. He also has the most goals created with 33.1. So what does the statistic mean?
Goals created are used to determine a player's offensive effectiveness, relative to his team. The formula is as follows:
x {Team Goals/}
By adding the player's contributions and multiplying that by the team's production, we can see where the player stands on the team. It showcases that person's importance to the team's productivity and where they stand offensively. For Karlsson, his performance during the franchise's inaugural season was the most important for Vegas.
Jonathan Marchessault (29.6 in 2023-24 and 27.9 in 2017-18) placed second and third in this category, respectively. Max Pacioretty took home the fourth spot with 27.4 in 2019-20, while Jack Eichel was tied for fifth-best with Marchessault with a total of 26.4 in 2023-24 (the former Conn Smythe winner also had a total of 26.4 in 2021-22).
Fans forget William Karlsson's importance to the Golden Knights, especially when it comes to his offensive production. Last season, he scored 30 goals and 30 assists while being one of the healthiest players on the ice. That's all the fans can ask for this season, especially if he does miss time with the team due to an injury.