3 teams that wish they'd lost a different player to the Golden Knights

The NHL's expansion to Vegas has been a great success story thus far, but not everyone is exactly filled with glee. Each of the other 30 NHL teams lost a player in the expansion draft process, and three teams in particular likely wish the Golden Knights went a different route with their selection.

Blue Jackets, William Karlsson

The Blue Jackets are one of the league's best teams, but their biggest flaw is their depth down the middle. Nick Foligno, who had been primarily a winger for his entire 10-year career heading into this season, has been forced to play center. Alexander Wennberg enjoyed a breakout campaign last year, but has struggled mightily this season.

Karlsson averaged just 13:23 minutes with the Jackets in 2016-17, but is enjoying a tremendous season of his own in a larger role, centering the Knights' top line. The 24-year-old has 10 goals and eight assists in 20 games. Defensively, he ranks second on the team with 19 takeaways and owns a 53.1 Corsi For percentage, despite starting over 55 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone.

Karlsson's strong play is essentially the reason why the Golden Knights didn't need Vadim Shipachyov.

Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Fleury has played only four games due to injury, but he has been sharp in the small sample size, owning a 3-1 record with a .925 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average.

Meanwhile, the Penguins have been unable to find a reliable backup netminder. Antti Niemi, Casey DeSmith, and Tristan Jarry have combined for an .839 save percentage.

Matt Murray has started 19 of the team's 23 games, but appears to either be fatigued by the larger workload, or enduring a possible sophomore slump. Regardless, his .907 save percentage and 2.88 goals-against average are both worse than the league average.

Being able to turn to a veteran like Fleury to give Murray a breather is a luxury the Penguins certainly still wish they had.

Capitals, Nate Schmidt

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Boy oh boy could the Capitals ever use a puck-mover like Schmidt on their blue line right about now. Thanks to the losses of Schmidt, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Karl Alzner in the offseason, and an injury that has kept Matt Niskanen out for most of the year, the Caps' blue line has been in shambles.

Both John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov are smashing their previous career high in average time on ice. Even 37-year-old Brooks Orpik is playing 22 minutes per night.

After allowing the fewest goals in the league last year, the Caps have allowed the seventh-most this season.

Meanwhile, Schmidt leads the Golden Knights in ice time, ranks third on the team in assists, and is on pace for 41 points.

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