Vancouver Canucks General Manager announced on Friday morning that the organization has agreed to a one-year, $775,000 one-way contract with forward Linus Karlsson.
Karlsson chose to forego his opportunity to test free agency last season as he signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with the Canucks on June 22. He was originally selected 87th overall in the third round of the 2018 NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks.
The Swedish forward spent his draft plus-one season in the SHL with the Karlskrona HK, scoring five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 52 games. During that season, his rights were traded to the Canucks in exchange for Jonathan Dahlen. Dahlen spent just one season with the Sharks, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points with a minus-25 rating in 61 games.
After two more seasons in the SHL, Karlsson signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Canucks. He spent his first few years overseas down in Abbotsford, playing in all 72 games and scoring 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points. The following season, Karlsson topped his previous season, scoring 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points in 60 games.
These efforts earned him his first call-up, making his NHL debut against the Calgary Flames. Karlsson played 11:54 minutes in his debut, finishing with three shots on goal and a plus-1 rating.
In 2024-2025, Karlsson has been shuffling up and down between the NHL and the AHL. He currently sits third on the Abbotsford Canucks in points (32) trailing Aatu Räty (36) and Christian Wolanin (33) despite playing nine and 15 fewer games, respectively.
Karlsson has spent time in the NHL with Vancouver this season, playing nine games so far and was trusted highly in the lineup, playing alongside Elias Pettersson. During that stint, Karlsson scored his first NHL goal against the Nashville Predators.
This extension comes shortly after Karlsson set the Abbotsford record for most goals in franchise history.
The 6’1″ forward scored his 66th goal in his 159th game, passing Sheldon Dries.
Karlsson will continue to work for his next call-up and look to become a mainstay in the Vancouver lineup on his new one-way contract next season.