Elliotte Friedman said it best: “There’s a lot of crazy stuff flying around at this time of year. On Monday, William Karlsson found himself the subject of trade rumors after James Mirtle of The Athletic wrote the Vegas Golden Knights could move him to shed salary to sign pending Free Agent Mitch Marner.
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“The Golden Knights’ cap situation this summer is tight,” wrote Mirtle. “But if they moved someone such as William Karlsson, who has a $5.9 million cap hit for two more years, they could make a competitive Marner bid.”
Mirtle didn’t suggest the Golden Knights wanted to move Karlsson. He merely stated that shedding the contract value would clear the necessary salary cap space to sign Marner. However, fans and media alike ran with it, and the rumor quickly picked up steam.
On Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman spoke about the rumors on the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. According to Friedman, the rumors are completely unfounded.
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“I always want to stress this,” began Friedman. “There’s a lot of crazy stuff flying around [on social media] at this time of year. And sometimes, even for us who deal in it, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. I’m not interested in fighting anyone that’s got William Karlsson’s name out there– to be honest, I don’t know where it came from.
Read More: Kirkell: Golden Knights Should Avoid Trading Karlsson At All Costs
“All I’m going to say is that I got pushback from teams about Karlsson,” said Friedman. “Now, I haven’t spoken to Vegas directly, and it’s always possible– and I stress this– always possible that Vegas may be talking to one or two specific teams about him that I haven’t found.
“But I will say, I asked a few people about Karlsson, and either they told me they’re not under the impression he’s available, or, I suspect, in at least one or two cases, they asked and were told no. They didn’t come right out and say it, but the kind of way they talked about it made me feel that way.
“Again, I don’t think it’s impossible,” Friedman continued. “There might only be 10 or 15 guys in this league that are completely untouchable. But, I asked around about Karlsson, and the people I speak to told me they had either no indication Vegas was willing to do it or had been specifically told Vegas wasn’t doing it.
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“So, if Karlsson’s available– and I stress if– it’s a situation out there that I haven’t found yet,” finished Friedman. “I know they really like the player. Because there was a time, a while ago, I heard something, and I checked in on it, and I was told that they really like the player.”
As Friedman said, very few players are truly untouchable, and Karlsson isn’t one of them. However, the Golden Knights would be remiss to trade him for the purpose of shedding salary, and they know it.
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