Golden Knights Rumors: Insider Gives Update On William Karlsson Trade Talks

Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson celebrates during 2025 game.

William Karlsson’s name made a surprise appearance on the NHL rumor circuit recently, with whispers suggesting the Vegas Golden Knights could trade the veteran center to shed cap space.

The speculation picked up after The Athletic floated the idea of moving Karlsson to pursue a high-profile free agent like Mitch Marner. But despite the chatter, trusted insiders, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, believe the Knights have no real interest in parting ways with one of their most reliable players.

Insiders Doubt Vegas Is Shopping Karlsson

Friedman addressed the rumors on his 32 Thoughts podcast, emphasizing how difficult it can be to separate fact from fiction this time of year. He noted that while he hadn’t spoken directly with Vegas management, multiple team sources had either been told Karlsson wasn’t available or strongly suspected as much.

One key point? Other GMs reportedly inquired about Karlsson and got the impression he was off-limits. His cap hit ($5.9M for two more years) may tempt suitors, but Friedman’s contacts insist there’s no indication Vegas is shopping him.

On William Karlsson: Rumour is he's on the trade block. Elliotte talks about separating fact from friction and that he got push back from teams on this. Says he hasn't spoken to Vegas directly. Maybe Vegas is talking to team Elliotte hasn't talked to but he doesn't have… pic.twitter.com/SMOaHxrLmp
— NHL Trade Alert (@NHLTradeAlert) June 10, 2025

Why Keeping Karlsson Makes Sense

Karlsson, 32, is coming off a down season, limited to 53 games due to injury, but his importance to the Golden Knights runs deeper than stats. He remains one of the few original members from the 2017 expansion squad and is still seen as a strong two-way contributor.

With Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl in the fold, but both carrying injury histories, Karlsson provides essential center depth. Vegas has around $9.6 million in cap space, and while they’ll need to make tough decisions elsewhere, it appears moving Karlsson isn’t one of them.

William Karlsson would be an interesting 2C target for a lot of teams if the Knights decide to move him. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/xdpyKdtG6v
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 9, 2025