Vegas Golden Knights fans didn't want to hear the harrowing news involving Victor Olofsson, yet they knew that it was coming. They saw the ugly hit that the Swedish forward took in Tuesday's 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken and knew that he wasn't sticking around for a while.
Head coach Ryan Craig talked to Golden Knights media on Thursday and said that Olofsson was week-to-week.
Craig says Olofsson is week-to-week. https://t.co/COFAFHdhW9
— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 8, 2026
If you remember the incident that happened on Tuesday, Seattle Kraken forward Ben Meyers cross-checked Olofsson into the boards in the third period. That knocked the winger out of commission for the game's remainder and prompted a series of fights from the Golden Knights and the Kraken. Think of Captain Mark Stone and Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour going at it and Kraken players going after Golden Knights winger Trevor Connelly.
Before he suffered his injury, Olofsson scored four goals (tied for fourth in the NHL) and an assist. Two goals came on the man advantage, propelling the Golden Knights to new heights to start the season. Furthermore, Olofsson had a stellar first campaign of his Vegas residency in 2024-25, scoring 15 goals and 14 assists. Here, he had six goals and two assists on the power play.
What losing Victor Olofsson means for the Vegas Golden Knights
So here's the story of Victor Olofsson's role on the Golden Knights. General manager Kelly McCrimmon wasn't paying Pavel Dorofeyev $11 million per year for seven years to be a power play merchant. So he decided to offload him to the New York Rangers for draft picks.
In comes Olofsson, a familiar face who had a similar shot and sniping acumen to Dorofeyev. Vegas took him in on a one-year deal worth roughly $1.64 million and trusted his past scoring experience with the club. Sounds good, right? After all, McCrimmon's had a penchant for finding value in the "lower lines scoring department."
The problem is that he suffered a dirty cross-check from Ben Meyers. Then comes the injury update that leaves him out on a week-to-week basis. Of course, this isn't the first time this has happened during his Vegas residency. Fans will remember the game on October 15, 2024, against the Washington Capitals. The Swedish winger suffered a lower-body injury that game and missed over a month.
The question is who steps up in the shooting role for Vegas? Who takes on the mantle of being the sniper that the Golden Knights need on the power play? You can only go to the bumper so many times before opponents sniff out Tomas Hertl. You can only pass it around so much before the power play runs out, too.
That's what the Golden Knights must figure out in the upcoming weeks. Perhaps taking a flyer on a proven winger like Vladimir Tarasenko can help matters. Maybe Connelly takes on the role. The Russian forward has a track record of scoring timely goals and adding more to the power play. Whatever the case, the Golden Knights need some magic from their best players with Olofsson out of the picture.
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