William Karlsson's Olympic hopes and dreams get the cold water treatment

TSN's Darren Dreger had some unfortunate news for Vegas Golden Knights fans on Tuesday. It's the type of news that's akin to a close relative passing away, only that Karlsson is still alive and kickin'. Instead, it involves the Original Misfit's hopes for the 2026 Winter Olympics and how he won't be available.

Karlsson has four goals and three assists this season in 14 games. The center suffered a lower-body injury that knocked him out of commission during the November 8 contest against the Anaheim Ducks. He was originally slated to return just before the Olympic break commenced. However, those hopes have gotten the cold water treatment, ushering in a chilling new reality for both Swedes and Golden Knights fans.

For the Swedes, you don't have a solid two-way center that defends the best players around. Sweden's chances of taking down powerhouses like Canada and the United States take a massive hit because of the loss, since they're loaded with all sorts of offensive firepower. How can you defend superstars like Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid without Karlsson's veteran presence? That makes life much harder.

As for the Golden Knights? Well, you know how hard it hits them. Already, they're missing big names like Shea Theodore and Adin Hill. Karlsson's prolonged absence makes things harder from a scoring standpoint since he was one of the more prominent depth scorers before his injury. Along with the aforementioned defensive tendencies, the lack of depth scoring hurts Vegas.

It appears that the Golden Knights will be limping into the new year with some terrible news. Not having the Original Misfit around longer than expected will hurt. But it also hurts Sweden in more ways than one, leaving them down a crucial two-way player for the Olympics.

That feels like an Olympic-sized punch to the gut, if you ask me. It's never fun.