REPORT: Golden Knights Approached Sharks About Hertl Before The All-Star Break
According to The Athletic, the Vegas Golden Knights began trade talks with the San Jose Sharks for Tomas Hertl before the All-Star break.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports - REPORT: Golden Knights Approached Sharks About Hertl Before The All-Star BreakAccording to The Athletic, the Vegas Golden Knights began trade talks with the San Jose Sharks for Tomas Hertl before the All-Star break.
As per Pierre LeBrun, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon spoke to the Sharks long before anyone could imagined.
"We had talked to San Jose before Tomáš got hurt. Tomáš was a player with significant term left on his contract. He's a player that's played so well against us. We've got tremendous respect for the player, and that's sort of why the conversations began," McCrimmon said. "But it was really complex. These are big decisions for both organizations. There's a lot of steps you have to go through for a deal like this to happen."
Hertl hasn't played a game since January 27th, when he re-aggravated an injury that had been plaguing him throughout the season. This injury caused him to sit out the next two games before the All-Star break began on February 1st.
Despite the injury, Hertl would still play in the All-Star game, as he wanted to bring his family and represent the San Jose Sharks, But that game against Buffalo was his final game in Teal.
"I give credit to both organizations that it was kept internal," McCrimmon said. "That's how deals should be made."
McCrimmon and Mike Grier did great business under every fan, journalist, and insider's nose. Nobody saw the trade coming until TSN's Bob McKenzie reported it on TSN's TradeCentre show minutes before the noon deadline.
Grier did his best on the return, but with a cap hit of $8 million and six years remaining, he knew he would have to retain some salary, which caused the deal to not be heavily favored by the Sharks despite giving up the best player in the trade.
"The retention. What's the additional price that needs to be paid for a team to get retention? Now you're involving ownership. It was the final deal to be completed. It was the one that we worked on the longest," McCrimmon said. "It was great for both organizations that we got it to the finish line because I think it's a really good trade for San Jose as well with what they're working at (in their rebuild). And we really like what it does for our team — not just for the short term but through his contract."
Hertl's time in San Jose won't be forgotten, but fans are still recovering from the shock of their beloved centerman going to the team's biggest rival.
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