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Photo of William Karlsson

William Karlsson

#71 · Centre · Vegas Golden Knights

Born Jan 8, 1993 in Marsta, SWE (age 33) · 6'0", 190 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 53rd overall in 2011 by ANA (round 2)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2022-23
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Conduct 2017-18

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2026-27. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Bokondji Imama FLA · 0 P in 4 GP Brad Lambert WPG · 0 P in 4 GP Brady Tkachuk FLA · 0 P in 4 GP Brandon Duhaime TOR · 0 P in 4 GP Brendan Gallagher VAN · 0 P in 4 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602014-15: 5 points514-152015-16: 20 points2015-162016-17: 25 points2516-172017-18: 78 points7817-182018-19: 56 points5618-192019-20: 46 points4619-202020-21: 39 points3920-212021-22: 35 points3521-222022-23: 53 points5322-232023-24: 60 points6023-242024-25: 29 points2924-252025-26: 7 points725-262026-27: 0 points026-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2014-15 ANA 18 2 1 3 1 2 24 14 0.17 $831K
2014-15 CBJ 3 1 1 2 2 0 5 4 0.67
2015-16 CBJ 81 9 11 20 -9 6 108 40 0.25 $831K
2016-17 CBJ 81 6 19 25 10 10 96 35 0.31 $1M
2017-18 VGK 82 43 35 78 49 12 184 48 0.95 $1M
2018-19 VGK 82 24 32 56 1 16 169 51 0.68 $5.25M
2019-20 VGK 63 15 31 46 11 16 138 40 0.73 $5.9M
2020-21 VGK 56 14 25 39 19 4 111 29 0.70 $5.9M
2021-22 VGK 67 12 23 35 3 10 135 42 0.52 $5.9M
2022-23 VGK 82 14 39 53 14 10 161 50 0.65 $5.9M
2023-24 VGK 70 30 30 60 15 22 175 43 0.86 $5.9M
2024-25 VGK 53 9 20 29 17 4 119 20 0.55 $5.9M
2025-26 VGK 14 4 3 7 -1 4 30 3 0.50 $5.9M
2026-27 VGK 4 0 0 0 -1 0 6 0 0.00 $5.9M
13 seasons Career 756 183 270 453 131 116 1461 419 0.60

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2016-17 CBJ 5 2 1 3 4 0 12 4 0.60
2017-18 VGK 20 7 8 15 8 2 50 30 0.75
2018-19 VGK 7 2 3 5 1 2 17 9 0.71
2019-20 VGK 17 3 4 7 -1 0 45 24 0.41
2020-21 VGK 19 4 12 16 10 2 34 25 0.84
2022-23 VGK 22 11 6 17 11 2 45 15 0.77
2023-24 VGK 7 0 2 2 4 0 9 8 0.29
2024-25 VGK 11 3 3 6 5 0 17 2 0.55
2025-26 VGK 15 3 6 9 10 4 24 6 0.60
9 seasons Playoffs 123 35 45 80 52 12 253 123 0.65

2026-27 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
4 0 0 0 -1 0 6 0 0.00 0.0 18:41

Contract

$5.9MCap hitends in 2027, then extended to 2029
$1.69MCap dollars per goal above replacement3.5 goals above replacement, projected
$4.1MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$1.8MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. The season is still being played, so each rating is projected over the whole season: the games played so far, plus the games left at the rate of the last three seasons and this one. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 647 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Jun 24, 2019, as an extension of the contract he was on: 8 years and $47.2M, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2026-27, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sep 30, 2026, 2 years and $13.5M at $6.75M a season, beginning in 2027-28.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2019-20 $5.9M $3.9M $2M $5.9M
2020-21 $5.9M $5.9M $0 $5.9M M-NTC
2021-22 $5.9M $7.1M $0 $7.1M M-NTC
2022-23 $5.9M $5.9M $0 $5.9M M-NTC
2023-24 $5.9M $5.6M $0 $5.6M M-NTC
2024-25 $5.9M $5.6M $0 $5.6M M-NTC
2025-26 $5.9M $5.6M $0 $5.6M M-NTC
2026-27 $5.9M $5.6M $0 $5.6M M-NTC

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Sep 30, 2026 Vegas Golden Knights Extension not begun 2027-28 to 2028-29 2 $13.5M $6.75M
Jun 24, 2019 Vegas Golden Knights Extension 2019-20 to 2026-27 8 $47.2M $5.9M
Aug 4, 2018 Vegas Golden Knights New contract 2018-19 to 2018-19 1 $5.25M $5.25M
Jun 23, 2016 Columbus Blue Jackets Extension 2016-17 to 2017-18 2 $2M $1M
May 19, 2013 Anaheim Ducks Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $2.775M $831K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2026-27 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2026-27 analytics

Rating, projected over the full season

2026-27 is still being played, so these are a projection of his whole season, not a count so far: what he has done in 4 games (+0.2 goals above replacement), plus the 39 more he is taken to play, going by how much of his team's games he has played before, at a rate set by his last three seasons and this one. The more he plays, the more this season counts, and by the last game it is simply his season.

+3.5Goals above replacement259th of 647 skaters, 184th of 422 forwards
+0.6Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+2.0Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 422 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-0.2 45th percentileEven-strength defence+1.2 75th percentilePower play0.0 63rd percentilePenalty kill+0.3 86th percentilePenalties+0.7 69th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance.

051015202014-152016-172018-192020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

54.9Corsi for %50 attempts for, 41 against
-1.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
62.5Expected goals for %2.8 expected for, 1.7 against
+3.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
33.3Goals for %1 for, 2 against
93.9PDO5.0% shooting + 88.9% saves
11Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
William Karlsson · Mitch Marner · Brett Howden437:5850.860.81-1
William Karlsson · Ivan Barbashev · Mitch Marner16:0177.875.30-0
William Karlsson · Ivan Barbashev · Braeden Bowman12:0566.70.00-0
William Karlsson · Victor Olofsson · Braeden Bowman21:3562.576.40-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.3Expected goalsfrom 13 unblocked attempts
-1.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 1.06 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 10.2% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -1.3 goals above expected1stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 0 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.51Expected 1.3Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Oct 6, 2026 @ SEA W 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:44
Oct 4, 2026 @ VAN W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 18:20
Oct 2, 2026 vs ANA L 3-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 20:13
Sep 29, 2026 vs CHI W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:26