Why The Canadiens Should Inquire about William Karlsson

The Canadiens likely see prospect Michael Hage as the plan to be their future second-line centre, as he has all the tools to be an NHL star someday. However, since he is returning to Michigan for the 2026-27 season, the Canadiens will need a stopgap for at least one season. 

Karlsson makes $5.9 million for another season before he becomes a UFA, which allows the Habs the opportunity to move on easily after the season. Then, Hage can take over, or if they need to bring Karlsson back for a year, they can do that as well. Last season, the 33-year-old Swede played just 14 games due to a lower-body injury that kept him out long-term, in which he scored 4 goals and 7 points. He also played 15 games in the Golden Knights playoff run, in which he put up a solid 3 goals and 9 points.

With that being said, there is risk in taking Karlsson on, but the playoffs showed that he still has the ability to be an average second-line centre at this point in time. Although the last few years have been up-and-down for Karlsson, with him many years removed from his breakout year back in the 2017-18 season when he scored 43 goals and 78 points in 82 games, he has shown that when healthy he can score somewhere between 55 and 60 points, which is a decent point total for a second-line centre around the league. This is why it is worth taking the risk on him, as he could slot in perfectly up the middle on a line with a skilled playmaker like Ivan Demidov.

In fact, when Karlsson was in the lineup this past season, he was put on a line with another great playmaker who makes everyone around him better, Mitch Marner. The same situation occurs with Demidov, meaning Karlsson will never need to be the go-to guy on his line, which can make it easier for him as the second-line centre. 

Karlsson would also take some of the pressure off Phillip Danault of being the only reliable left-handed faceoff man on the team. Although it was a low sample size this season, Karlsson won 57.6% of his draws (91 for 158) in the regular season, which is impressive. He also has a history of winning between 52% and 58% of his faceoffs over a season, which would be a huge boost for the Canadiens. 

If the Canadiens were to go out and get him, he would be another option to play on the penalty kill and would almost certainly pivot the second power-play unit. The best part of all would be that he’d add a lot of leadership to the youngest team in the NHL with both his experience and having won a Stanley Cup in 2023. As a result, he should be a good fit for the short-term.

The biggest issue would be after an injury-plagued season that even ended prematurely in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals (the Golden Knights lost in 6), can Karlsson stay healthy next season? Following the Finals, Karlsson underwent surgery to fix a broken wrist sustained during that playoff series. It was clearly a tough season for Karlsson, and he’s approaching the later years of his career, so a decline in play is inevitable soon. Although, the price to acquire him would likely be low considering the situation that the Golden Knights are in.

The truth is that the Canadiens have the opportunity to get a veteran second-line centre for something like a mid-round pick or a low-end prospect. Then again, the Golden Knights are a team who traded Marc-Andre Fleury after winning the Vezina Trophy for future considerations and are known to give their cap casualties for almost nothing, so maybe Karlsson could be had for future considerations. If that’s the case, the Canadiens could get a stopgap second-line centre for free if the Golden Knights continue the trend of giving up players to get under the cap. 

At the end of the day, there is no reason the Canadiens shouldn’t look to take advantage of the Golden Knights’ cap situation to get a piece that could be a short-term fix, as it would cost either nothing or very little to get their hands on this player. Although, this is probably a plan if the Canadiens can’t get a younger centre that could be of help for multiple years, as the reality is Karlsson would almost certainly just be a one-year option. Considering that he’d be better than what they currently have, it would be worth it with no risk attached to it. 

Do you agree that the Canadiens should look at Karlsson as a potential target on the cheap?