Golden Knights acquire Rasmus Andersson from Flames for picks and players

Cbssports reports the Vegas Golden Knights acquired veteran defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames on Sunday night, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. As part of the deal the Flames will retain 50% of Andersson's $4.55 million contract. Las Vegas is sending a 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2027 second-round pick, defenseman Zach Whitecloud and defensive prospect Abram Weibe to Calgary; if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season the second-round pick becomes a future first-round selection, per Friedman.

The move fills a top-four vacancy created by Alex Pietrangelo being out for the season with a serious hip injury. Andersson is playing the final year of his contract and the trade did not include an extension, meaning Las Vegas has surrendered premium future assets for a rental; an extension could be announced anytime over the next few months, the report said.

Andersson was highly regarded under coach Darryl Sutter (a plus-31 goal differential and 120 points in 217 games, per Natural Stat Trick), but his underlying numbers have declined under Ryan Huska (a 48.1% expected goals share and a minus-24 goal differential at five-on-five, with 100 points in 207 games).

Key Topics

Sports, Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames, Alex Pietrangelo, Zach Whitecloud