The Vegas Golden Knights are believed to be close to getting forward William Karlsson back from injury, but he remains without a return date, per SinBin.vegas.
Karlsson hasn’t played since January 20th, when he sustained a lower-body injury against the St. Louis Blues. He was placed on LTIR on Feb. 7 to allow the club to make recalls and remain cap compliant. Karlsson’s season has been defined by injuries and uneven offensive play, as shown by his 18 points in 38 games on the year. He also missed the first eight games of the season with an undisclosed ailment. Prior to his most recent injury, Karlsson was going through a seven-game scoring slump, and registered just one assist in his last 10 games played. His elite-level defensive prowess has remained, aided by his 58.9 percent faceoff win-rate and plus-eight rating.
As SinBin.vegas notes, Karlsson has been with the team and was expected to play on their current road trip per quotes from GM Kelly McCrimmon and coach Bruce Cassidy. McCrimmon noted on March 7 that Karlsson “isn’t far away” from returning. That was later echoed by Cassidy on March 11, who noted his hopes of Karlsson returning at some point during the team’s road trip.
Since Karlsson’s injury, Vegas has managed a 14-10-4 record, but would no doubt be aided by his return. Karlsson is one year removed from a 30 goal, 30 assist season and should slot back into the club’s top line as Vegas looks ahead to the playoffs. Despite missing Karlsson for an extended period of time, Vegas still finds themselves in first place in the Pacific Division.
In 723 career NHL games, Karlsson has registered 435 points, of which 385 have come as a member of the Golden Knights. “Wild Bill” was selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 expansion draft after being left exposed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Karlsson was a key part of the team’s Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence, scoring 43 goals and 78 points on the season, registering a league-high plus-49 rating, and capturing the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy along the way. He has added 65 points in 95 career playoff games with Vegas, all of which has solidified him as a fan-favorite in Sin City.