When Vegas traded for Noah Hanifin on Wednesday, a condition in the deal stated what the Calgary Flames would receive if the Golden Knights no longer had their 2025 first-round pick by Sunday.
That meant the Golden Knights had another deal in the works and their Friday trade for San Jose Sharks All-Star Tomas Hertl shocked the hockey world.
Hertl is currently hurt but is due back before the playoffs. He, coveted defenseman Hanifin and big-bodied 20-goal scorer Anthony Mantha will make the Golden Knights a tough opponent as they try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. If injured Mark Stone and Alec Martinez return for the first round, the team is even more formidable.
The Golden Knights get an A- for their trade deadline work. Here are other notable teams' grades:
Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov are proven playoff performers. Guentzel has 34 career playoff goals and Kuznetsov was dominant during the Washington Capitals' 2018 Stanley Cup run. There are some risks. The Hurricanes gave up Michael Bunting, three prospects and picks for a player who could choose to leave in free agency. Kuznetsov is going through a tough season and he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in February. But the Hurricanes' additions should make a difference after they lost four consecutive one-goal games in last season's conference final.
The Panthers stood pat last year and reached the Stanley Cup Final as the second wild-card team. The No. 1 overall team could have stood still this year, but the Panthers boosted their top six forwards with Vladimir Tarasenko and their bottom six with Kyle Okposo. Tarasenko is a former Cup winner and Okposo will be motivated as he's now set to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.
They landed a No. 2 center in Casey Mittelstadt and found a buyer for Ryan Johansen, who didn't work in that role. Defenseman Bowen Byram was a tough loss but newly acquired Sean Walker is having a strong season. Brandon Duhaime and Yakov Trenin make the Avalanche more physical. Plus, they're getting Valeri Nichushkin back from the assistance program. The one quibble: A more-experienced backup would help, but Justus Annunen has been impressive in his last three appearances.
Adding Tyler Toffoli on Friday and Sean Monahan earlier is a big boost to their top six forwards. Colin Miller joins the defense.
Adam Henrique can move up and down the lineup, Sam Carrick provides toughness and Troy Stecher kills penalties.
Considering they were rumored to be seeking a big-name winger, their acquisitions seemed underwhelming. Last year's big splashes of Tarasenko and Patrick Kane didn't lead to a playoff run, so maybe subtle is better. Alex Wennberg can be a shutdown player, Jack Roslovic is on a roll and Chad Ruhwedel will help with defensive depth while Jacob Trouba is out of the lineup the next 2-3 weeks. They also held onto former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko and their top prospects.
They got a big haul in the Guentzel deal. The hope is Bunting can fill Guentzel's spot on Sidney Crosby's line because he played alongside elite players in Toronto. The true test of this deal is how prospects Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius and Vasily Ponomarev develop.
You can't argue with adding a three-time Stanley Cup winner (Pat Maroon), especially when the projected first-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs could be feisty. But their moves seemed underwhelming compared with last year.
Forward Anthony Duclair and defenseman Matt Dumba are fine additions, but the team didn't do more to replace injured Mikhail Sergachev. It was also strange that they took on part of Henrique's salary to help facilitate his trade to the Oilers.
They made their long-awaited goaltending moves by acquiring Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen, but it's too late. Perhaps if they had pulled off a move earlier, Lindy Ruff wouldn't have been fired and Toffoli might still be with the team. General manager Tom Fitzgerald told NHL Network he'll still be looking for goaltending in the offseason. Getting Vitek Vanecek, who has an extra year on his contract, off the books will help that pursuit.
The return for Duclair and Hertl wasn't impressive, especially since San Jose sent two third-round picks to Vegas. They weren't able to move pending UFA Alexander Barabanov. The Sharks better hope they win the draft lottery and are able to pick Macklin Celebrini.
