The Golden Knights have a penchant for making waves on the commerce market, and it seems as if they’ve set one other in movement Sunday evening. Las Vegas has acquired veteran defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames, dished out a pleasant return to safe the deal, in accordance with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet
As a part of the Golden Knights’ acquisition, the Flames have agreed to retain 50% of Andersson’s $4.55 million contract. Las Vegas is sending again to Calgary a first-round choose within the 2027 NHL Draft, a conditional 2027 second-round choose, defenseman Zach Whitecloud and defensive prospect Abram Weibe.
If the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season, the second-round choose will grow to be a future first-round choice, per Friedman.
With Alex Pietrangelo out for the season attributable to a severe hip damage, the Golden Knights had a void of their high 4. They’ve now stuffed that hole with among the best choices on the commerce market.
The compensation despatched over by Las Vegas is especially important contemplating Andersson is taking part in on the ultimate 12 months of his present contract and the deal didn’t embody settlement on a contract extension. The Golden Knights have consequently surrendered premium future belongings for a rental participant. An extension could possibly be introduced anytime over the subsequent few months, in fact, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a chance on the a part of normal supervisor Kelly McCrimmon, who hasn’t shied away from daring strikes previously.
The query now’s whether or not Andersson was the proper participant on whom to gamble. There was a time when he was thought of an underrated star on the again finish, notably when Darryl Sutter was behind the Flames’ bench from 2020-23. Andersson posted stable five-on-five numbers, together with a plus-31 purpose differential, whereas additionally tallying 120 factors in 217 video games, per Pure Stat Trick.
Nevertheless, since Ryan Huska took over in 2023-24, Andersson’s numbers have tumbled. A part of that has to do with Sutter taking his elite defensive system with him when he left, and one other a part of it’s the total deterioration of the roster.
Nonetheless, the underlying metrics have not been variety to Andersson just lately.
With Huska main the Flames, Andersson has a 48.1% anticipated objectives share and a minus-24 purpose differential at five-on-five. His offensive manufacturing has additionally taken a slight step again, too, with 100 factors in 207 video games.
The Golden Knights will attempt to get Andersson again into a powerful defensive setting the place shortcomings will be hid whereas permitting him to showcase his offensive skillset. If they’ll get Andersson again to his 2022-23 type, nobody will care in regards to the acquisition price.
As for the Flames, they seem to be a crew clearly in rebuild mode, and it appeared unlikely that Andersson would re-sign subsequent summer season. Securing a first-round choose (in addition to a conditional second-round choose) with no sign-and-trade was in all probability honest worth on this occasion. Whitecloud is a stable depth defenseman, and Weibe is extra of a long-term undertaking.
This can be a basic instance of a commerce that made loads of sense for either side. The Flames can load up on draft capital as they attempt to kickstart a rebuild, and the Golden Knights are centered on successful now as they gear up for what needs to be a gauntlet within the Western Convention playoffs.
Las Vegas at the moment has the second-best odds to win the West at +470, in accordance with FanDuel; nonetheless, the Colorado Avalanche (+125) are the clear favorites, and the Edmonton Oilers (+500) aren’t far behind.
