Victor Olofsson Is Out Week-to-Week After That Hit in Seattle

by Ryan Rose

What Happened in Seattle

The Golden Knights played the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Seattle. Vegas won the game 6-2, and for most of the night, Olofsson was the story. He opened the scoring in the first period with 6:58 left, ripping a shot from just inside the blue line on the right wing, according to the Associated Press recap on News 3 Las Vegas. He scored again in the second period with 6:53 left to make it 4-0.

Then came the third period. At 8:03 of the third, Kraken forward Ben Meyers hit Olofsson at the numbers and sent him face-first into the boards, The Hockey News reported. Olofsson was slow to get up. Jack Eichel and an athletic trainer helped him off the ice, and he did not return. Daily Faceoff said Olofsson finished with two goals in 10:48 of ice time.

The referees gave Meyers a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. As of this writing, we found no report of a suspension or a Department of Player Safety hearing for Meyers [NOT VERIFIED]. If the league acts, it would usually announce that on its own channels.

The Golden Knights did not let the hit go quietly. Captain Mark Stone challenged Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour at 9:21 of the third, with Vegas up 5-1, according to The Hockey News. Stone had already scored and set up a goal that night. The fight gave him his first career Gordie Howe hat trick, which is a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game. Stone's goal and assist also gave him 400 points with Vegas, making him the third player in team history to reach that mark.

After the game, Craig did not have an update. "We never want to see anyone leave like that," he said, according to The Hockey News. Tomas Hertl, who also scored twice that night, put it simply: "It's tough to see Oly going down." He added, "Hopefully it's nothing serious, because he's had a hell of a start."

Two days later, on Thursday, Oct. 8, Craig gave the update before the home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Olofsson is week-to-week. At that morning's skate, Raphael Lavoie took Olofsson's spot in line rushes, and Trevor Connelly filled in on the top power-play unit, Daily Faceoff reported. The team did not say what kind of injury it was [NOT VERIFIED].

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, No. 61 in the white road jersey, battles along the boards with a Seattle Kraken player during Vegas's 6-2 win in Seattle on Oct. 6

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Start with the hockey. Olofsson was scoring at a pace that is hard to replace. He scored on the power play in the opener against Chicago on Sept. 29, and he played on a line with Hertl and Connelly that night. Craig liked what that group was doing. "Oly's been off to a great start for us," Craig said after the Seattle game. "That line has been pretty good, and he's a big part of that."

When a scorer goes down, the whole lineup shifts. Lavoie moves into a bigger role. Connelly, a 20-year-old rookie, now takes shifts on the top power-play unit. Someone else picks up those power-play minutes he used to get on the second unit. A small change at the top ripples all the way down the bench, and that is what fans will see over the next few weeks.

The good news so far is that Vegas has kept winning. The team came back from 3-0 down to beat Toronto 4-3 in a shootout on Oct. 8, the same night Olofsson's status was announced. Connelly scored the shootout winner. Then Mitch Marner scored a power-play overtime goal to beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Oct. 10. That put Vegas at 5-1-0 on a four-game win streak, according to the team's game recaps.

Both of those wins came with Olofsson out of the lineup, and both showed how other players are filling the gap. Against Toronto, Stone and Brett Howden scored to start the comeback, Jack Eichel tied the game on a penalty shot, and Connelly won it in the fifth round of the shootout. Adin Hill stopped four of five shootout attempts. Against the Kings, Carter Hart made 31 saves before Marner ended it in overtime. Close games like these are where a missing scorer usually shows up, so the team finding ways to win without him is a good early sign.

Now think about who cares about this beyond the box score. The Golden Knights are a big part of daily life in Clark County. Plenty of locals plan weeknights around puck drop. Bars and restaurants from Summerlin to Henderson fill up on game nights. Families buy jerseys with a favorite player's name on the back. When a fan favorite gets hurt, people talk about it at work, at the gym and at the rink on Saturday morning.

Then there is the youth hockey side. Kids who play at local rinks watch the Golden Knights closely. A story like this one shows them two real parts of the game. One is that hits into the boards are dangerous, and the rules exist for a reason. The other is that when one player goes down, another one gets a chance. Lavoie and Connelly both got bigger roles this week because of a teammate's injury.

This week also showed how much local fans are paying attention. The Oct. 8 game against Toronto was the first in team history without an announced sellout, ending a run of 420 straight, according to News 3 Las Vegas and Daily Faceoff. We cover that in our Hockey Week roundup. With seats a little easier to find, a win streak and a shuffled lineup could be good reasons for locals to catch a game.

Background: Who Is Victor Olofsson?

Olofsson is a 31-year-old winger from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall, and he came to North America in 2018, according to Daily Faceoff. The Buffalo Sabres drafted him in the seventh round, 181st overall, in 2014. Seventh-round picks rarely become regular NHL players. Olofsson did, and he scored at least 20 goals in three of his six seasons in Buffalo.

This is his second stint in Vegas. In 2024-25, he played 56 regular-season games for the Golden Knights and had 15 goals and 29 points. He added two goals and four points in nine playoff games that spring, Daily Faceoff reported. Those nine games are still the only playoff games of his career.

He moved on after that. In 2025-26, he played 60 games with the Colorado Avalanche, then was traded to the Calgary Flames as part of the Nazem Kadri trade. On July 1, 2026, he came back to Vegas as an unrestricted free agent on a one-year deal worth $1.638 million, according to Daily Faceoff. Over parts of nine NHL seasons with the Sabres, Golden Knights, Avalanche and Flames, he has played 452 games with 122 goals and 247 points.

That one-year deal is the part worth watching. Olofsson is one of four Golden Knights players set to become unrestricted free agents after this season, along with forward Nic Dowd, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and goalie Carter Hart. A hot start on a short contract is how a player earns his next deal. An injury in the first two weeks interrupts that, which is why Hertl's comment about his "hell of a start" landed the way it did.

The two players who moved up have their own stories. Lavoie, 26, led the Henderson Silver Knights with 30 goals last season, and he won the 13th forward spot when Vegas made its final cuts on Sept. 27. Connelly was the team's first-round pick in 2024, missed the past two years with injuries, and scored in his NHL debut on opening night. We wrote about both in our roster cuts story.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone grabs Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour during their third-period fight in Seattle after the hit on Victor Olofsson

What Happens Next

Week-to-week is a general term NHL teams use. It means the player is not expected back in a few days, but the team is not giving an exact timeline. It can mean a couple of weeks or longer. The Golden Knights did not share a target return date [NOT VERIFIED], so the honest answer right now is that nobody outside the team knows when Olofsson will play again.

In the meantime, watch three things. First, how Lavoie handles a bigger role. He is still looking for his first NHL point in 17 career games heading into the season, so a top-six spot is a real chance for him. Second, how Connelly does on the top power-play unit. Third, whether the Golden Knights call up another forward from Henderson for depth. The team said before the season that it could do that if injuries hit.

It also helps to understand the penalty itself. Boarding is a call referees make when a player checks an opponent in a way that drives him violently into the boards, especially when he cannot protect himself. A minor penalty is two minutes. A major is five minutes, and in the NHL a major for boarding comes with a game misconduct, which is why Meyers was sent off for the rest of the night. Whether the league adds anything more is up to its Department of Player Safety, which reviews hits after games.

A smiling Vegas Golden Knights forward in the gold home jersey celebrates after the 4-3 shootout comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 8

The schedule keeps moving. Vegas plays at the Minnesota Wild on Monday, Oct. 12. The team's next home date at T-Mobile Arena was not part of our research [NOT VERIFIED], so check the official schedule before you buy tickets. If Olofsson's status changes, the team will usually post it on its website and social media, and local outlets like News 3 Las Vegas and the Review-Journal will pick it up quickly.

Ryan's Take

A hockey injury is not a housing story, and I will not pretend it is. But the Golden Knights are part of what makes Las Vegas feel like a hometown, not just a place people visit. When locals talk about why they like living here, the team comes up a lot. Game nights fill up neighborhood restaurants and bars. Kids wear jerseys to school. Youth hockey keeps growing at rinks around the valley. That kind of shared identity is part of the value of living in a place, even if it never shows up on an appraisal.

This week also showed something I think locals can relate to. One player goes down, and others step up. Lavoie came up through Henderson, and Connelly fought back from two lost years. Neighborhoods work a lot like that, too. If you are choosing where to live in the valley, it is worth looking past the house itself and asking what the community does on a Tuesday night. In a lot of Las Vegas neighborhoods, the answer is still: watch the Knights.

What You Can Do

If you want to follow Olofsson's recovery, go straight to the source. The Golden Knights post injury news and lineup updates on their official website at NHL.com and on their social media accounts. Coach Craig usually speaks to reporters at morning skate and after games, and that is where week-to-week updates tend to come out. Local outlets like News 3 Las Vegas, FOX5 and the Review-Journal report those updates quickly.

If you want to see the new-look lineup in person, this may be a good time. Recent home games did not sell out, so check the official team site or the T-Mobile Arena box office for seats. Be careful with resale sites, and always compare the full price with fees. Do not forget to plan for parking and traffic on the Strip on game nights. If you want to see Lavoie's old team, the Henderson Silver Knights play at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, and that is often an easier, cheaper night out for families.

If you have a young player at home, use this week as a teaching moment. Talk about why boarding is a penalty and how to protect yourself near the boards. Talk about how Lavoie and Connelly got their chances by being ready. And if you are new to the valley and looking for a neighborhood near a local rink, that is a great thing to put on your wish list.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.