According to a report from TSN, the Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to a contract with restricted free agent centre William Karlsson. He will sign an eight-year contract worth $47.2 million, or $5.9 million per season AAV. This contract carries him through the 2026-27 season. Pierre McGuire and Bob McKenzie broke the news on Twitter, and it’s expected to be confirmed by Vegas shortly.
Hearing that William Karlsson’s extension, once signed this week, will be 8-year max term, which was really important to him. Loves it in Vegas.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 23, 2019
AAV will be a shade under $6M. https://t.co/TJCQjgrUzH
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 23, 2019
Karlsson camp fought hard for the max term. The Knights pushed hard for a reasonable AAV which the team got. Like I said, Karlsson really didn’t want to leave. If there was no extension he possibly would have got dealt this summer. https://t.co/cCAA176YjB
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 23, 2019
Vegas Golden Knights Re-Sign William Karlsson
Over his six-year NHL career, Karlsson has played for the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Vegas. He has put up 85 goals and 99 assists for 184 career points in 347 career NHL games. Karlsson has added 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 32 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was originally drafted in the second round, 53rd overall of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
Last season he scored 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points. He also added 16 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 54.1 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of -0.9.
What This Means for the Future
Once seen as a third-line centre with Columbus, Karlsson has unlocked his offensive game with the Golden Knights. He put up 43 goals and 78 points in the expansion club’s first season. While some of that production was based on an unsustainably high shooting percentage, Karlsson proved this season that he can be an offensive threat and was not a one-year wonder. The fact that he’s able to produce while also playing an excellent two-way game and facing the opponent’s top line shows how valuable he is.
The Golden Knights lock down their number-one centre to a long-term deal at a reasonable cap hit. However, the team will need to clear some cap space to get the deal finalized. According to CapFriendly.com, the Golden Knights are currently over next season’s $81.5 million salary cap. They can create some additional space with David Clarkson‘s LTIR status, but will still need to clear more space before the start of next season.
Main Photo: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 20: William Karlsson #71 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates during warmups before a game against the Vancouver Canucks at T-Mobile Arena on March 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 4-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
