The Vegas Golden Knights divide opinion – but there is no doubt that their ambition and bold approach to the NHL trade deadline deserves respect.
Kelly McCrimmon, renowned for his fearless plays as Golden Knights general manager, pulled the strings on a scintillating trade deadline week, adding three of the best available players without subtracting from his gameday roster.
The Golden Knights acquired Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals on Tuesday [5 March], doubled down a day later by nabbing Noah Hanafin from the Calgary Flames, and sent the hockey world into a frenzy on Friday [8 March] by pulling off a landmark move for Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks – a divisional rival, no less.
But Vegas’ approach is polarizing – heralded by fans of the Golden Knights and hated by just about everyone else.
“You have conversations with people and it depends on your approach,” McCrimmon said when asked how the Golden Knights have been so prolific at the deadline. “We pay. I think that’s part of it. We have made some good deals for other teams as well.”
McCrimmon hasn’t been afraid to trade first-round picks and prospects for primetime players, with Brendan Brisson the only exception.
Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, Erik Brannstrom, Peyton Krebs, and Zach Dean were all flipped by Vegas, in addition to the franchise’s first-round draft positions in 2018, 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026.
It isn’t a conventional approach – but the results are there for all to see.
Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights trade deadline acquisition (Image: San Jose Sharks)
The Golden Knights went to the Stanley Cup final in their expansion season (where they fell to the Washington Capitals), before winning it all last term, in just their sixth year of existence.
There is no room for sentimentality in Vegas, a theme exemplified by the franchise’s controversial dumping of then-Vezina Trophy champion Marc-Andre Fleury. But it has worked for them.
“Our players know that we want to win,” McCrimmon said after the deadline. “They know we’ll do anything to win, which I think they appreciate and expect. They like being a part of a winning organization, but the trade deadline always gives a certain amount of angst to players.”
But there was no trade deadline angst this year, with the Golden Knights pulling out all the stops in their bid to retain the Stanley Cup.
Analysis: Vegas Golden Knights blew opposition away with stunning trade deadline moves
The Vegas Golden Knights went all in at the trade deadline, acquiring Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks in the move of the year.
Hertl, a bona fide first-line centre who can drive play and is physical, only cost a first-round pick and forward prospect David Edstrom.
The Sharks retained seventeen percent of Hertl’s salary and sent a pair of third-round picks to Vegas. Remarkable doesn’t even cover it.
While the Golden Knights paid a heavy price, Hertl is absolutely worth it, with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 48 appearances for the bottom-feeding Sharks this season.
With Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon in win-now mode, the decision to acquire the Czech forward was a no-brainer.
Noah Hanafin fits into the same category.
Noah Hanafin, Vegas Golden Knights trade deadline acquisition (Image: San Jose Sharks)
Acquired from the Calgary Flames for defensive prospect Daniil Miromanov and a slew of draft picks (including a first-round selection), he was the best defender on the market and will perfectly in Vegas.
The Golden Knights’ bruising blueline was a significant factor in their run to lifting the Stanley Cup in 2023. Hanafin, a 6’3” brick wall, adds to that component and joins what was already one of the best defences in the NHL.
Anthony Mantha is another smart add, while not of the same ilk as Hanafin and Hertl.
The 29-year-old, at fifty percent salary retention from the Washington Capitals, only cost a second-rounder and a fourth-rounder and will add size and skill to the Golden Knights’ offence.
Mantha isn’t a wart-free player and will almost certainly leave Vegas as an unrestricted free agent in the summer – but McCrimmon won’t mind.
The Golden Knights are chasing the Stanley Cup and Mantha adds another layer of threat to their middle-six.
Love them or hate them, the Golden Knights’ daring approach warrants your respect.
