Golden Knights Bolster Roster with Rasmus Andersson
The Vegas Golden Knights have finalized a significant move by acquiring defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames. In the deal, the Knights sent defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a conditional first-round pick in 2027, and a conditional second-round pick in 2028. The trade does not include a contract extension for Andersson, but it does stipulate that the Flames will cover 50% of his remaining contract. In addition, the Knights added prospect Abram Wiebe in the operation, announced on Sunday night. Andersson is in the final season of a six-year contract with a cap hit of $4.55 million. The player, who also served as an alternate captain in Calgary, is set to represent Sweden in the upcoming Olympic Games. The 29-year-old defenseman, eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, had Las Vegas as his preferred destination, according to sources. The Golden Knights are expected to be able to secure Andersson’s signature for after this season. Several teams, including the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars, had held advanced conversations with the Flames to acquire the defenseman. The Bruins were only interested if they could agree to an extension with Andersson, but no agreement was reached.Calgary had known for months that Andersson’s transfer was imminent and decided to speed up the process, informing interested teams that they wanted to close the deal before the Olympic break. Andersson played his last game on Saturday in Calgary, where he seemed to say goodbye to the fans. The trade solidifies Vegas as a Stanley Cup contender and reinforces the Golden Knights’ reputation as a franchise that constantly seeks to acquire top-tier talent to win. Whitecloud has been with the Golden Knights since he signed with Vegas as a college free agent in 2018.“We were able to finalize it with Vegas, they were willing to do it without a contract, as that was something they made clear to us in the last 12 hours, there would be no signed extension with any of the teams,” said Flames general manager Craig Conroy.
Craig Conroy
