{"id":15008,"date":"2025-11-18T06:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T06:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/golden-knights-hit-with-another-major-blow-as-william-karlsson-lands-on-injured-reserve-2\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T06:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T06:36:27","slug":"golden-knights-hit-with-another-major-blow-as-william-karlsson-lands-on-injured-reserve-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/?p=15008","title":{"rendered":"Golden Knights Hit With Another Major Blow as William Karlsson Lands on Injured Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

The injury bug has bitten the Vegas Golden Knights once again\u2014this time taking out one of the franchise\u2019s original pillars. The team announced Wednesday that veteran forward\u00a0William Karlsson is expected to miss several weeks with a lower-body injury, a tough setback for both the player and a Golden Knights squad already struggling to stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff race.<\/p>\n

Karlsson missed his first game of the year on Monday against the Florida Panthers, but there had been hope that his absence was precautionary. Instead, the Golden Knights quietly placed him on injured reserve, confirming that his recovery will take longer than initially feared. While Vegas moved quickly to recall Braeden Bowman from the AHL\u2019s Henderson Silver Knights, the rookie\u2019s strong start\u2014seven goals and twelve points in his first 12 AHL games\u2014does little to ease concerns surrounding the team\u2019s rapidly thinning roster.<\/p>\n

For Vegas, this storyline is becoming alarmingly familiar. Mark Stone, the team\u2019s captain and emotional leader, remains sidelined indefinitely. Adin Hill, their starting goaltender and a stabilizing force between the pipes, is also unavailable for the foreseeable future. Now with Karlsson out, the Golden Knights are missing three core contributors, leaving the team at 7-4-4 and sitting two points outside the West\u2019s final wild-card spot. A promising season is suddenly in jeopardy of derailing before Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Karlsson, one of the celebrated \u201cMisfits\u201d who helped lead Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, has had difficulty staying healthy in recent years. He missed 29 games last season due to a lower-body injury and never found consistent rhythm, finishing with modest numbers by his standards\u2014nine goals and 29 points. His 2024\u201325 campaign, however, had shown early signs of resurgence. Through 14 contests, he posted four goals and seven points while playing over 15 minutes a night. His two-way presence and reliability down the middle make him nearly impossible for Vegas to replace internally.<\/p>\n

Complicating matters further is the Golden Knights\u2019 salary-cap gridlock. Due to the NHL\u2019s updated LTIR rules, Vegas can only remove Alex Pietrangelo\u2019s $8.8 million from the books this season\u2014the defenseman has been ruled out for the entire year. Even with Stone on LTIR and Karlsson now sidelined, the Knights have just a little over $450,000 in cap space. The lack of financial flexibility leaves them with few viable options to bring in outside help, forcing the organization to rely heavily on prospects and depth pieces during a critical stretch of the schedule.<\/p>\n

While the season is still young, the Golden Knights find themselves at a crossroads. They\u2019ve battled adversity before\u2014most notably during their injury-riddled march to the 2023 Stanley Cup\u2014but this year\u2019s cap limitations make the path much more treacherous. If Karlsson\u2019s absence extends longer than expected, the situation could snowball quickly.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: in a brutally competitive Western Conference, Vegas can\u2019t afford to lose many more players\u2014or many more games. The Misfits may be down, but if history has taught the NHL anything, it\u2019s never wise to count them out.<\/p>\n

Nathaniel Lowe is expected to be cut loose by the Red Sox this week. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)AP<\/p>\n

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The Red Sox have some roster cleanup due this week, with Tuesday marking the date by which teams need to add eligible prospects to their 40-man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 draft and Friday representing the annual non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players. Don\u2019t expect Boston to clear a roster spot by cutting bait with a homegrown former All-Star starter, though.<\/p>\n

At this point, Boston is unlikely to non-tender injured righty Tanner Houck, multiple sources said Monday. With a 40-man roster crunch coming, there was some thought that cutting bait with Houck was possible due to his current situation. Houck, who took home $3.95 million in 2025, is projected (by MLBTradeRumors\u2019 widely used model) to take home the same salary in 2026, but is expected to miss most if not all of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. Considering the 2027 season is in jeopardy due to labor tensions and Houck is set to hit free agency after that year, the possibility existed that the Red Sox could non-tender (release) Houck into free agency to save a bit of money knowing he won\u2019t be ready to pitch for most of 2026. But sources indicate the Red Sox plan to tender him a contract.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if the sides have talked about a creative long-term deal. Tendering Houck a contract would keep him under club control ahead of negotiations to avoid arbitration and set a 2026 salary later in the winter.<\/p>\n

By Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, teams must add eligible prospects to their 40-man rosters to protect them from being poached in next month\u2019s Rule 5 draft. The Red Sox, who have a full 40-man roster, don\u2019t have a long list of candidates but are expected to make at least a move or two. Right-handed prospect David Sandlin is a virtual lock to be added, requiring at least one 40-man roster spot to be cleared. Lefties Shane Drohan and Hayden Mullins, righties Yordanny Monegro (injured) and Jedixson Paez and outfielder Miguel Bleis are among the other potential Rule 5 candidates in the organization. If the Red Sox want to make sure any of those players aren\u2019t taken in the Rule 5 draft, they can add them. Doing so would require spots to be cleared.<\/p>\n

Any roster spots that need to be cleared for prospect additions need to be opened simultaneously Tuesday, which is a day when small trades are usually made throughout baseball. Therefore, the Red Sox could get a jump on the Friday non-tender deadline (set for 8 p.m. ET) by moving on from players four days early. The non-tender date represents an opportunity for teams to cut bait with arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration-eligible players and send them into free agency. The Red Sox, unlike in previous years, could be busy on non-tender day.<\/p>\n

The most obvious non-tender candidate on the roster is first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who is projected to earn $13.5 million in 2026. That mark represents much more than what he\u2019d get on the open market after a down season that included him being cut by the Nationals. Lowe will almost certainly be lopped off the roster but could re-sign at a lower rate as he tests the open market. Boston is anticipating the healthy return of Triston Casas next season and is looking to upgrade the first base position via free agency or trade.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox have seven other arbitration-eligible players and are certain to retain Kutter Crawford, Romy Gonzalez, Triston Casas and Brennan Bernardino at their low projected numbers. Connor Wong, who is projected to make $1.6 million in 2026, is expected to be tendered after Craig Breslow gave him a vote of confidence last week. Cooper Criswell already agreed to a one-year, $800,000 deal for 2026, removing him from non-tender consideration.<\/p>\n

In addition to Lowe, the Red Sox could cut bait with some younger players on the roster. Righty Josh Winckowski (projected to make $800,000) is a candidate to be cut from the roster, as is lefty Jovani Mor\u00e1n. Tough roster decisions might be made with the utility group of Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard later in the winter but for now, those players are projected to be safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The injury bug has bitten the Vegas Golden Knights once again\u2014this time taking out one of the franchise\u2019s original pillars. The team announced Wednesday that veteran forward\u00a0William Karlsson is expected to miss…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t