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The trade
Vegas Golden Knights receive: Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, with 50 percent salary retained
Calgary Flames receive: Defenseman Zach Whitecloud, 2027 first-round pick (top-10 protected), conditional 2028 second-round pick (will become a 2028 first if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2026), prospect defenseman Abram Wiebe
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Mark Lazerus: It wouldn’t be an NHL trade deadline — even a so-called “soft” deadline ahead of the Olympic break — without Vegas going big-game hunting.
There is no future in Vegas. It’s always win-right-now. Love them or hate them, every fan wishes their team operated the same way.
And as they so often do, the Golden Knights landed one of the premier players on the market in defenseman Rasmus Andersson. With Alex Pietrangelo’s career likely over, Vegas had a glaring need (and a ton of LTIR money) on the right side behind Shea Theodore (a lefty shot who typically plays on his off side). Brayden McNabb, being week-to-week with an upper-body injury, only heightened Vegas’ need. Consider that need filled.
Andersson is a consistent producer offensively — 41 goals over the last four seasons — who can handle a heavy workload; his average ice time of 24:14 is 16th in the league. He’s hardly a shutdown defender, but Theodore can handle the tougher assignments, which should free up Andersson to do what he does best. Plus, his physicality and tenacity on the puck are custom-made for the playoffs, which is why he was such a sought-after player.
Vegas doesn’t have an extension in place — yet — but the Golden Knights never seem to have trouble with such matters. It’s a team that lives exclusively in the now, and currently, the Knights are cooking. They’ve won seven straight, always harbor legitimate championship hopes and are never shy about putting all their chips in the middle of the table. In fact, the Knights might have the most favorable path to emerge out of the Western Conference while the league’s center of power is in the Central Division. Vegas is in prime position as the Pacific’s clear front-runner, with Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota likely to take massive chunks out of each other in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
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The only question is, can they add Artemi Panarin? It’s Vegas. Kelly McCrimmon is as ruthless a general manager as the NHL has, and he always seems to find a way.
Calgary did about as well as can be expected, including landing a viable and affordable NHL defenseman with term (two more years after this one) in Whitecloud. Yet, to get a nondescript prospect and what’s sure to be a late first-round pick not this year but next (and possibly another one in 2028) even while retaining half of Andersson’s salary is a sobering reminder of just how far the Flames have to go in this so-called retool.
Vegas grade: A-
Calgary grade: B-
Harman Dayal: The Golden Knights have done it again. In a market where true impact players are becoming increasingly difficult to acquire externally, Vegas won the bidding to land a premier defender at a position where the club needed a boost.
Andersson was Calgary’s best defenseman this year. He’s a do-it-all No. 2/3 defender — he drives offense (10 goals and 20 assists in 48 games this season), capably moves pucks and brings a physical edge and toughness that will be valuable come playoff time.
Andersson’s defensive metrics in Calgary have declined significantly over the last three years. There were times last year when he appeared to have lost half a step with his skating (though he was also playing through a broken foot down the stretch last season), and his rush defending can be a weakness at times. Those are legitimate yellow flags, especially if he receives a long-term extension.
However, he’s going to a significantly better Vegas team where he’ll be insulated with more talent and better structure, so there’s a good chance that Andersson’s underlying metrics will rebound. By the eye test, this is still a player who boasts a ton of great tools. And the cost isn’t all that bad when you consider how late Vegas’ picks will likely be, and the strong likelihood of Andersson extending.
I’m a little surprised at how much flak the Flames received for this return. Yes, the picks they got from Vegas will likely be late in each round, but rental top-four defensemen in their late 20s are rarely moved at the deadline for true blue-chip/Grade-A prospects. Getting a first and a second as the foundation of a return seems pretty standard. Maintaining Whitecloud’s value will be important for the Flames to find a way to monetize him for a decent return at some point in the future, to juice the value from this Andersson package.
Vegas grade: B+
Calgary grade: B