The Vegas Golden Knights have made their biggest splash of trade season, acquiring star defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames on Sunday night, according to a report from TSN.
The deal sends defenseman Zach Whitecloud, 2022 seventh-round pick defenseman Abram Wiebe, and a top-10 protected 2027 first-round pick to Calgary. The Flames will also receive Vegas’s 2028 second-round pick, which becomes a first-rounder if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season.
Andersson, 29, is in the final year of a six-year, $27.3 million contract with a $4.55 million cap hit, half of which will be retained by Calgary. He has 30 points in 48 games this season and was widely considered the best puck-moving defenseman available on the market.
The Bruins were reportedly given permission to speak with Andersson about an extension, but no deal was reached. Vegas is acquiring him without an extension in place, betting on its ability to sign the pending unrestricted free agent. Andersson has been linked to the Knights since the offseason.
Andersson, a native of Malmo, Sweden, will become the ninth Golden Knight to represent his country at the Winter Olympics in February. He was selected by the Flames in the second round of the 2015 draft and posted a career-high 50 points and plus-30 rating in 2021–22.
Andersson replaces Whitecloud in a top-four role and is expected to reunite with Noah Hanifin, his former defense partner in Calgary. The Knights acquired Hanifin from the Flames in March 2024 in another blockbuster deal.
Whitecloud, 29, signed with Vegas as a college free agent from Bemidji State in 2018 and played all 368 career games with the franchise, helping the Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. His departure is a sentimental loss in the locker room.
