As is the case with every NHL offseason, there’s talk about NHL expansion, which gave The Athletic something to chat about recently, hosting a mock Expansion Draft for the next team to join the league. Considering the Vegas Golden Knights constructed a Stanley Cup Final team through their own Expansion Draft in 2017, the pressure would be on the next new general manager to pull off a similar heist, especially with a veteran like William Karlsson potentially exposed.
When the next Expansion Draft occurs, it will mark the first time in franchise history that the Golden Knights will lose a player, as they had exception status in the Seattle Kraken 2021 Expansion Draft. Given the very strict rules of the draft, which means teams have two protection options: either selecting seven forwards, three defenseman, and a goalie, or just eight skaters and one goalie, it would put Vegas in a bit of a bind.
Today, at minimum, the club would have to protect Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, and Tomas Hertl. In addition, other players with various contract stipulations, such as Ivan Barbashev, Brett Howden, Braeden Bowman, Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, and Carter Hart, would have to be protected or asked to waive their clauses.
Given this in-depth knowledge of Golden Knights contracts, The Athletic went through the numbers and selected Karlsson in their draft, ending the Original Misfits’ tenure with the club after three Stanley Cup Final appearances and one championship over the past nine seasons. Back in 2017, Karlsson came to Vegas from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Expansion Draft, where he had just posted a career-high nine goals and 25 points. During that inaugural season with the Golden Knights, Karlsson erupted for 43 goals and 78 points to win the Lady Byng Trophy with just 12 penalty minutes in 82 games.
What makes William Karlsson so appealing here?
After 569 games in the desert, Karlsson is only 14 points away from catching and surpassing former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault for the franchise’s all-time points record, which stands at 417. Although it’s been a couple of seasons since Karlsson reached double digits in goals, last scoring 30 in 2023-24, injuries have limited him to just 67 games over the past two years. Despite his absence, the Golden Knights have still won games and had playoff success, but it’s obvious they miss his presence in the lineup, no more so than in the recent Stanley Cup Final.
When Karlsson made his return to the lineup in the second round against the Anaheim Ducks, the Golden Knights produced an 8-2 record heading into the Final, splitting the first four games of the championship series 2-2. However, in Game 5, he played just 8:43, suffering a season-ending injury, and Vegas didn’t win another game. Heading into next season, Karlsson is in the final year of an eight-year deal signed in 2019.
Obviously, there is no Expansion Draft on the horizon, but never say never when it comes to the NHL adding a team or two in the future, quite possibly as early as the end of the decade. For now, Golden Knights fans can breathe a sigh of relief since no one is leaving, yet when the day comes, barring any deals to protect the team’s core, it could be a tough day for the Golden Knights fanbase to see a former favorite in enemy colors.
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