The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames in exchange for two draft picks, D-man Zach Whitecloud, and more.
The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames.
TSN's Darren Dreger was the first to report the deal between the Golden Knights and Flames.
Calgary received a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, as well as defenseman Zach Whitecloud and Abram Wiebe, who is a 22-year-old defenseman at the University of North Dakota.
The 2027 first-rounder is top-10 protected, and the 2028 second-round pick will turn into a first-round pick if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season.
Meanwhile, the Flames will be retaining 50 percent of Andersson's salary. It was also reported by multiple sources that Andersson has not signed a contract extension as part of this trade.
The 29-year-old defenseman joins the Golden Knights while carrying a $2.275 cap hit, following the retention, and is a pending UFA. He'll require a new contract by July 1, and now Vegas has the right of way if they're interested in keeping him past this season.
In fact, the Golden Knights have created more cap space in this trade, getting Andersson at just half of his cap hit, and sending Whitecloud the other way.
Whitecloud, 29, carries a cap hit of $2.75 million for two more seasons after this campaign, resulting in Vegas clearing $475,000 off its books.
With now $3.865 million in current salary cap space, the Golden Knights have enough room to activate defenseman Brayden McNabb from long-term injured reserve. McNabb, 34, costs $3.65 million against the cap.
Whitecloud now moves out for Andersson on the back end, and the former Flames blueliner will add to Vegas' strong D-corps.
Rasmus Andersson (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)Along with Andersson, the Golden Knights have Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin as the three-headed monster in defense. All three of those defensemen will be representing their respective nations at the upcoming Olympics in Milan.
In 48 games played this season, Andersson has 10 goals and 30 points. He's been averaging a career-high 24:14 of ice time for the Flames.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that it seemed the Boston Bruins were front-runners for Andersson because they were the only team granted permission to discuss a contract extension.
However, he also mentioned that Vegas was very interested in Andersson and that the player was interested in the team. Less than 24 hours later, the deal comes to fruition.
Additionally, the Bruins weren't interested in acquiring Andersson without an extension in place.
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