Vegas locked up William Karlsson on Wednesday night, handing the 33-year-old center a two-year extension that carries a $6.75 million cap hit.
The structure is where it gets interesting. Year one pays just $1.5 million in salary, with a $6 million signing bonus stacked on top.
Year two flips to a straight salary. That's $13.5 million total, and the bulk of it lands in his account before he takes a single faceoff under the new deal.
Signing bonus money is buyout-proof. If things go sideways after year one, Vegas can't wriggle out of that cash.
There's also a 15-team no-trade clause baked in, which hands the Swede real say over any move Kelly McCrimmon might want to make down the road.
Karlsson is playing out the final year of his current contract at $5.9 million. The extension runs 2027 through 2029.
So Vegas just gave an $850,000 raise to a center who'll be 34 when the new deal kicks in.
Kelly McCrimmon's cap sheet gets heavier down the middle in Vegas
Tuesday night didn't make a loud case for the raise. In a 5-2 home win over Chicago, the veteran was held scoreless with one shot across 17:26 of ice time.
Jack Eichel drove that one with three points, including the winner. His $13.5 million hit sits atop a payroll that keeps stacking big numbers.
Mitch Marner carries $12 million, and Mark Stone sits at $9.5 million.
Tomas Hertl adds $8,137,500 to the forward group. Karlsson's new hit slots in just ahead of Adin Hill's $6.25 million.
Here's the issue. The dollars won't sink anyone, but that no-trade list could tie McCrimmon's hands at exactly the wrong moment.
Think of it like a lease that lets you move, just not into half the neighborhoods in town. Fine, right up until the place you need is on the blocked list.
An aging core needs exits. Handing a longtime forward a veto over nearly half the league is a bad bet for a team built to contend now.
Michael Deutsch got his client cash up front and control over his future. That's about as clean a win as an agent gets.
And Ryan Craig, in his first season behind the bench, now has to figure out what this player is. Top six? Bottom six? A special teams workhorse?
The Knights sit 1-0-0 and second overall after one night, which tells you nothing yet.
Anaheim visits Friday, then it's a road trip through Vancouver and Seattle. Every shift Karlsson takes now gets measured against money he hasn't started earning.
-
Did Kelly McCrimmon hand William Karlsson too much protection with that 15-team no-trade clause?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Sergei Bobrovsky makes another selfish move toward Gavin McKenna after rookie lap incident
