The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that winger William Carrier will be out indefinitely with a lower body injury.
Carrier was injured late in the first period of Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils. It’s unclear what caused the injury, but some Golden Knights reporters said it looked like a leg injury, though that’s also unconfirmed.
Carrier played just 5:08 of ice time in the game, with just one hit on his stat line before he left. The Golden Knights won the game 4-3 in the shootout, with Jonathan Marchessault scoring two goals and goaltender Adin Hill making 47 saves, along with four additional shootout saves.
It’s a blow for Carrier, who is enjoying a career year with the Golden Knights. He has 16 goals, 9 assists and 25 points, goals and points already career highs for him, and he ranks fifth among the Golden Knights in goals.
A second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2013, Carrier was traded to the Buffalo Sabers as part of Ryan Miller’s trade to the Blues, where he played his rookie season before the Golden Knights selected him. in the expansion draft. He is one of four players still in Vegas since that expansion draft, although Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore have also been on the team since their inaugural season as part of trades in that expansion draft.
Carrier is in the third year of a four-year contract with a cap of $1.4 million, or 1.72% of the cap when initially signed and 1.7% now.
Rookie forward Paul Cotter replaced Carrier in the lineup on Friday and will likely be the go-to option as a backup for now. Cotter has 11 goals, 4 assists and 15 points in 43 games this season.
Injuries are piling up for the Golden Knights up front, with Carrier joining Mark Stone, Nolan Patrick and Nicolas Roy on the board, along with goaltenders Robin Lehner, Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit. Vegas leads the Pacific Division with a 37-19-6 record and has scored in 11 of its last 12 games.
