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Instead, the 29-year-old will be taking his talents to Las Vegas, as it was the Golden Knights and not the Bruins who were able to finalize a deal with the Flames on Sunday.
To bring Andersson to Vegas, the Golden Knights will send defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick that will become a future first-round pick if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup this season, and NCAA defensive prospect Abram Weibe (a seventh-round pick of Vegas in 2022). The Flames will also retain half of Andersson’s 2025-26 salary to complete the trade.
The trade itself was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to have word of the return going Calgary’s way.
As of Saturday night, the Bruins appeared to be the proverbial driver’s seat for a move for Andersson, with Friedman even reporting that he believed that the Bruins were granted access to talk about an extension with the right-shot defender. However, it’s been believed for a close to a year now that Andersson had an interest in going to Vegas, so the Knights were always hovering over the situation in some fashion. Especially if the Flames were keen on ‘doing right’ by a player they were going to trade.
On Saturday, and as reported here on 985thesportshub.com, it was believed that the Black and Gold had the best offer on the table for Andersson. But that certainly appeared to change between then and the trade’s completion on Sunday, as the Golden Knights added stronger pick compensation and built a package that could net Calgary two first-round picks if it works out the way Vegas hopes.
The cost to bring Andersson to Boston would’ve likely required the B’s parting with defenseman Mason Lohrei, prospect Matt Poitras, and at least one of the club’s four first-round picks over the next two years. It’s hard to imagine the Bruins being willing to do that without an extension in place, and there was some internal debate as to whether or not the Bruins really wanted to part with one of their 2026 first-round picks, a league source told 985thesportshub.com. It’s worth noting that Andersson’s move to Vegas does not come with an extension.
Andersson, who has spent his entire NHL career with Calgary, heads to Vegas having posted 10 goals and 30 points through 48 games this season.