William Karlsson was placed on LTIR on Thursday. The Swedish center (lower-body injury) saw a maintenance day turn into an injured reserve week. Then, that injured reserve week (or in this case, weeks) turned into a stint on LTIR, where the Vegas Golden Knights are putting his $5.9 million cap hit in the pool.
The initial reaction from the NHL universe was one of anguish and predictable outrage.
"Oh boy, here come the LTIR Knights again!"
"They're getting another big-name superstar."
"I HATE MARK STONE!"
Mark Stone didn't do anything, so it remains to be seen why people would hate the Captain for no reason. It's not like he's sliding out of bounds for first downs, trying to draw 15-yard penalties. Still, it was coming for Karlsson to hit LTIR after the Pittsburgh Penguins's Richard Rakell replaced him on Sweden's 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
But what does it mean for the Golden Knights moving forward? Does the team desperately need someone with defensive acumen to step in while he's absent? There are many layers to the incoming news involving the Golden Knights (believe it or not, the salary cap's currently at $595,585, according to PuckPedia). Here's what placing Karlsson on LTIR means for the team moving forward.
What placing William Karlsson on LTIR means for the Vegas Golden Knights
First, let's get one thing clear. It's not Mark Stone going on LTIR for once. All the jokes about the Winnipeg native circumventing the salary cap can be put to rest because he's still healthy and kicking. He has 13 goals and 34 assists, meaning his impact would be massively felt if he received the designation.
However, William Karlsson being out is also major for the Vegas Golden Knights. For one, they lose a valuable special teams player for both units. The 32-year-old made his cut on the second power play unit with two assists on the man advantage this season. While the team has the fourth-best power play unit in the NHL entering Saturday's game against Boston (27.3%), not having their veteran forward stings.
But there's the other side of the coin: The penalty kill. The Golden Knights are 21st in the NHL (76.5%) in this regard, leaving the team further decimated on the unit. Without the Swedish center, the team loses a man who makes successful exits and can disrupt the play. That means the group must step up together and replace his production during the penalty kill. The good news? The Golden Knights have the fewest penalty minutes in the NHL this season (296).
But it won't mean the team accrues salary cap space while a player's on LTIR. Vegas must also have its salary cap number on Karlsson's activation day below the cap. It also expects the player affected to be out for at least 10 NHL games and 24 days. In short, Karlsson should be out for a while.
Despite what the conspiracy theorists hyped up on drinking kerosene will tell you, this news doesn't mean much for Vegas. It means they're down one player during a critical stretch. With names such as Tanner Pearson also out of action, the Golden Knights will need its team to step up and become productive. That's it. That's what it means.