Golden Knights Give Victor Oloffson Chance to Revive Career

The Vegas Golden Knights are giving forward Victor Olofsson a chance to revive his NHL career.

Mar 19, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson (71) skates prior to the start of a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Vancouver won 3 -2. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into the 2024-2025 season with a completely overhauled roster. After losing long-tenured Knights like Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, and and Logan Thompson, the team opted for lome low risk, high reward replacement options.

One of the new players brought into the organization is winger Victor Oloffson. The 29-year-old forward played the entirety of his career with the Buffalo Sabres before joining the Golden Knights. Originally selected in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, it took Oloffson several years to make the jump from the Swedish professional ranks, but he finally joined the Sabres in full-time for the 2019 season.

As a rookie, he scored 20 goals in 54 games. Over the next few seasons, he put up 15-25 goals, before taking a step back this past season. During the 2023-2024 season, he played in just 51 games and scored an NHL-low seven goals.

The down season forced the Sabres to move on from Olofsson and paved the way for the Golden Knights to sign him to a one year, prove it deal with the team.

For Olofsson, this is the ultimate opportunity because he gets to reunite with his former teammate and the Knights' top center, Jack Eichel. When Olofsson broke into the NHL with the Sabres, he played on a line with Eichel and found success. A huge part of his 20-goal campaign was due to playing with a superstar like Eichel.

Heading into 2024, Olofsson is again in the same situation he was as a rookie in Buffalo. He's being overlooked and underrated, but has the chance to prove the doubters wrong. He still possesses an elite shooting ability, and if he finds a way to use it more and re-finds that spark with Eichel, he could be the leading candidate for best bounce-back season in 2024.

This is also a last chance for Olofsson. Because of his stark decline in production last season, there wasn't a long line of organizations pursuing the Swedish forward. The Golden Knights are taking a chance on a talented player, but Olofsson has to prove that he can make good on this chance and revive his career.

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