Disappointing William Karlsson News For the Golden Knights & Team Sweden

It was only one week ago that Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy reported that star center William Karlsson would return before the Olympics, as had been expected. But we're now getting word from insider Darren Dreger that Karlsson will NOT be available for Sweden at the Olympic Games.

It appears @GoldenKnights William Karlsson will not be available for the Olympics. Tough break for Sweden as he was expected to be on the team.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 30, 2025

What this means for a timeline on his return to the Golden Knights lineup is unknown at this time. But it's an ominous sign.

Karlsson has been recovering from a lower-body injury suffered in early November and hasn't played since Nov. 8th. He was moved to Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), and is still considered week-to-week.

In 14 games this season, Karlsson injected his usual smart, two-way play, leadership, and secondary scoring, recording four goals and seven points while averaging 15:09 of ice time.

The delayed return is bad news for Sweden at the Olympics, but potentially also for the Golden Knights.

Karlsson isn't the only key center out of the Vegas lineup these days, as they've also been without their top player, Jack Eichel, for the past couple of weeks. He leads the team with 41 points in 31 games. He's still considered day-to-day, but could return as soon as Wednesday this week.

Karlsson, 32, is a 12-year veteran, and is an Original Misfit with the Golden Knights. In his nine years in Vegas, he has 403 points in 569 games, with a plus/minus rating of +128.