Winners and Losers of the Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights Trade
Leave it to the Vegas Golden Knights to kick off the pre-Olympic mini-trade deadline by taking a much-anticipated player off the board.
The Flames dealt pending UFA defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights at 50 percent retained in exchange for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 second-round pick, and prospect Abram Wiebe on Sunday.
What does this package mean for the rest of the buyers on the market? Who's left on the defenseman trade market now that Quinn Hughes and Andersson have been snatched up? Why is it always Vegas?
Here are the winners and losers of the Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights trade.
Winners: Vegas Golden Knights For Doing It Again
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The front offices that know how to be aggressive are going to rise to the top this trade deadline, with so many potential buyers and so few obvious sellers.
There had been reports of Andersson's interest in Vegas long before the deal got done. There's another indirect benefit of being aggressive: a good reputation among pending free agents.
Players want to go to Vegas because the team does whatever it takes to remain competitive. The Golden Knights improve via trade more than any other team, and it has evolved into a clear strategy and identity. Players feel secure that the front office will take care of them with a solid deal and keep the team as a whole competitive.
We didn't know how the Golden Knights would pivot with Alex Pietrangelo in the twilight of his career, but we had confidence they would somehow fill that hole on the right side behind Shea Theodore.
Now that Brayden McNabb is week-to-week, we felt the urgency rise in Vegas even more. Say what you will about its approach, but raise your hand if you expected it to just throw in the towel with its defensive situation. No one?
Not everyone has to be this aggressive when it comes to trade deals, but the Golden Knights' acquisition of Andersson and winning the biggest name of the moment yet again means they must be doing something right.
It's another reminder that the most successful teams make things happen, and they pivot quickly if they make a mistake.
The name of the game these days is thinking quickly, and the Golden Knights have come out on top of this one.
Losers: Snoozers...Patience Won't Pay Off This Trade Deadline
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If there are rumblings of your team expressing interest in a player on the market, you can bet this trade deadline that there are seven other teams in on that player as well.
We thought Andersson might have been headed to the Bruins for a minute there, but those talks going public just pressured the Golden Knights to wrap it up. The Flames played that just right.
Let this serve as a warning for this soft trade deadline ahead of the Olympics, and the actual trade deadline on March 6: You're going to have to move fast to get your guy.
This whole thing is complicated by the Winter Olympics, of course. Some teams want to wait to put ink to paper until they're sure their trade target doesn't get hurt in Italy. Others want to ensure none of their big-name players get hurt at the Games before making any moves in case they have to replace someone important.
Andersson is representing Sweden at the Games, so the Golden Knights were willing to take the injury risk. A little LTIR drama never scared them anyway.
Winners: Bruins Fans Who Want a Rebuild
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The Boston Bruins have been a more complicated team than we expected heading into this season.
They've stayed afloat in the playoff conversation in the tight Atlantic Division. They've shown some legit cohesiveness under head coach Marco Strum, Morgan Geekie has emerged on offense, and Jeremy Swayman's bounce-back has been a relief.
Still, every six-game winning streak (like the one they're currently on) comes to an end with a reminder that this isn't a team deep enough for a meaningful playoff run. But it wasn't supposed to be.
GM Don Sweeney has been in win-now mode for a decade, and as exciting as the Bruins' highs this season are, we should think long-term.
The Bruins are in the perfect position for a quick retool. Losing out on Andersson could be a blessing in disguise if Sweeney decides to stick with it now. He could've been part of a win-now vision and a retool if the Bruins managed to sign him long-term, but with patience, they will have the opportunity to sign a player of his caliber again. They can afford patience right now.
Winners: Teams With Defensemen to Trade
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All things considered, the Flames did well on the return for Andersson. Sure, he's having one of his best seasons, and there was an element of luck there, but he's a pending UFA.
Squeezing an active NHL defenseman, a first-round pick and more out of this situation is a win. Calgary had to retain some salary this year, but that doesn't matter for a team out of the playoff race.
The Quinn Hughes deal was an outlier. Not only did it happen early, but it also featured a top-two defenseman in the league in a precarious situation. The Andersson deal shows us what we already suspected: this deadline, the sellers are going to win big.
Teams are even more desperate to shore up their defense now that the two top names are off the board, so GMs selling defensemen will have even more leverage.
If Andersson commanded two picks (including a first-rounder), an active roster player and an (unsigned) pick, what could guys such as Dougie Hamilton and Luke Schenn go for?
TBD: Fans of Trade Deadline Season
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How are we feeling, trade deadline season lovers?
On one hand, the dominoes are falling, and things are heating up now that Quinn Hughes and Andersson are off the board. Surely, all of the buyers hoping to acquire a defenseman are squirming now. We'll probably see another move or two before the Olympic freeze.
On the other hand, Vegas? Again? Really? Can we even blame the Golden Knights for seizing the moment every day when it feels like too many NHL front offices are content with hitting the snooze button?
We can look at Vegas' front office as the big, bad guys all we want, but at a certain point, the more careful front offices are actually just behind the ball.
Are fans more entertained by Vegas getting things done, or are they more disappointed with half the league's front offices for acting like it's impossible to get anything done?
Personally, I'm grateful the Golden Knights have exposed some incompetence and put pressure on other teams. We'll see if that pressure translates into more moves at the deadline.
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