San Jose Sharks trade Tomas Hertl to defending Cup champs Golden Knights
Leave it to the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights to pull off what could be the biggest deal at the NHL's trade deadline Friday.
After the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers slugged it out adding talent, the Golden Knights sneaked in under the deadline to land Tomas Hertl from San Jose.
In doing so, general manager Kelly McCrimmon capped a string of moves to shore up his slumping team's roster — Vegas has lost four straight and is 2-8-1 in its past 11 — after acquiring defenseman Noah Hanifin from Calgary and forward Anthony Mantha from Washington earlier in the week.
Now it's a matter of waiting for Hertl, a five-time 20-goal-scorer, to complete his recovery after undergoing left knee surgery last month.
"Size, power, net-front presence, he's elite in those areas," McCrimmon said, noting he expects Hertl to return before the playoffs. "As I told him, 'Tomas, if you play as good with us as you did against us, we'll all be happy.'"
Vegas also received third-rounders in '25 and '27 with Hertl, who is signed for six seasons beyond this one. San Jose acquired top prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick and is retaining 17% of Hertl's $8.14 million annual salary.
Hertl's acquisition overshadowed a busy close to the trading period in which 23 trades were completed Friday involving 33 players and 22 draft picks. That compares with 21 trades involving 34 players and 14 draft picks moving on deadline day last year.