The Vegas Golden Knights have made another massive trade before the March 8th deadline. First, it was Anthony Mantha, then Noah Hanafin, and now Tomas Hertl. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are shooting for a second consecutive Stanley Cup with their massive trade deadline acquisitions.
Further to the deal, Vegas did not subtract any current roster players to acquire their upgrades. If there’s anything we’ve learned about Kelly McCrimmon since joining the league, it’s that he is not afraid to be bold in his acquisitions, which was made crystal clear over the past week.
Vegas Golden Knights Acquire:
- Tomas Hertl (17% retained, $6.75 million)
- 2025 third-round pick
- 2027 third-round pick
San Jose Sharks Acquire:
- 2025 first-round pick
- David Edstrom (drafted by VGK 32nd overall in 2023)
Initial Thoughts
This is a trade that came completely out of left field, initially broken by Bob McKenzie on TSN’s TradeCentre show. Vegas gets a proven versatile forward who will bring a win-now mentality to this group. Tomas Hertl will help an already deep Vegas team and push their forward core to newer heights.
Vegas, however, had to give up a first-round pick and their best prospect, David Edstrom. Acquiring a centreman and a winger who can move around the lineup alongside two third-round picks is incredibly tidy work by Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon.
If you’re a San Jose Sharks fan, you have to wonder what the plan is going forward. General manager Mike Grier has used all three salary cap retention slots, and he didn’t weaponize a single slot. Next year, the salary cap outlook isn’t great for San Jose either, Brent Burns’ deal will expire at the end of 2024-25 which opens one retention slot. However, there are still TWO salary cap retention slots locked up for multiple years afterwards.
Erik Karlsson’s deal runs until the end of the 2026-27 season and San Jose is retaining $1.5 million on that contract. With Tomas Hertl being traded to Vegas, San Jose retained 17% of his contract for the next six seasons. In a trade like this, Mike Grier should’ve at least asked for another first-round pick or multiple lower-round picks and/or a current roster player from Vegas. This is the best example of poor use of assets and mismanagement from the general manager of any NHL team in the last 20 years.
