The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights added an offensive element to their blue line by acquiring defenseman Rasmus Andersson in a trade with the Calgary Flames, both teams announced on Sunday.
In parting ways with a player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Flames acquired veteran defenseman Zach Whitecloud, defensive prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft and a conditional second-rounder
in 2028. The Flames also agreed to retain 50% of the remainder of Andersson’s salary in the final season of a six-year, $27.3 million contract.
It’s the latest aggressive move made by the Golden Knights after acquiring high-scoring forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto this offseason.
The 29-year-old Andersson, selected to represent his native Sweden at the Milan Cortina Games next month, was regarded as one of the highly prized candidates on the trade market.
He’s spent all 10 NHL seasons with Calgary since being selected by the Flames in the second round of the 2015 draft.
Andersson has reached at least 30 points in each of his past four seasons, and already reached the plateau this year 10 goals and 20 assists. His 10 goals are one shy of matching a career high and tied for eight among NHL defensemen this season.
Overall, Andersson has 57 goals and 261 points in 584 career games.
The puck-moving player joins a Vegas defensive group missing Alex Pietrangelo, who stepped away from hockey due to health issues last summer, and with Brayden McNabb missing nine games with an upper-body injury.
Andersson is reunited with defenseman Noah Hanifin, who spent five-plus seasons in Calgary, before being traded to Vegas in March 2024.
Vegas has won seven straight, and coming off a 7-2 win over Nashville on Saturday.
Whitecloud has two years left on a six-year, $16.5 million contract, and was one of the few remaining holdovers from the Golden Knights expansion season-roster in 2017-18. The 28-year-old was an undrafted free agent, has 23 goals and 78 points in 368 career games and won a Stanley Cup in 2023.
The Flames have won just three of eight, and sit 13th in the Western Conference standings, five points out of wild-card contention.
___
AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed from Las Vegas.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
