Look out, Vegas rolling the dice again with Andersson acquisition

We should have known the Vegas Golden Knights would never sit on their hands two years in a row.

We’re conditioned to look southwest during the NHL’s busiest in-season trade window — which is basically now, until the March 6 deadline — because you can usually count on the Golden Knights making a significant move.

Last season, however, no serious desert deals got done leading up to the deadline and the Golden Knights were bounced in the second round of the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers. 

So, back come the Knights, picking up right-shot defenceman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames on Sunday afternoon. As it happens, Vegas is playing its best hockey of the year — the squad snagged its seventh straight win with a 7-2 smackdown of Nashville on Saturday — and the team’s success is largely being driven by deadline acquisitions from previous years who — as many expect Andersson will to do — made Vegas a permanent home.

Captain Mark Stone — acquired Feb. 25, 2019, from Ottawa — scored for the third straight game, versus the Preds, and is putting up the most crooked numbers of his career and some of the craziest per-game totals in the league. Stone has missed 16 games this season, but among NHLers who’ve played 30 contests, the Canadian Olympian ranks fifth in points per game (1.52) and is tied for fourth in goals per game (0.58). Over 82 contests, that’s a 48-goal, 125-point season. 

Five years after landing Stone, Vegas snagged Tomas Hertl from San Jose ahead of the 2024 deadline. The big centre is a huge presence for the Knights, recording four goals and 12 points since the start of the seven-game winning streak on Jan. 6. Hertl has really been killing it for a month, recording 20 points in 16 outings since Dec. 17.

Two days before GM Kelly McCrimmon snagged Hertl in March 2024, he connected with Calgary on a swap for defenceman Noah Hanifin. As it happens, 13 of Hanifin’s 19 total points this season have come in 15 games since Dec. 20. Now that Calgary and Vegas have come together on another trade, Hanifin figures to be reunited with his old Alberta pal Andersson.

It’s all great news the Pacific Division-leading Knights, who never veer too far from get-your-guy mode.

Weekend Takeaways

• With Vegas triggering the first big trade domino of 2026, you wonder if other teams will soon follow suit. Specifically, Dallas and Washington — two clubs with Stanley Cup aspirations who are really struggling — might be a couple to keep an eye on. The Stars are securely in a playoff spot, but are 6-7-4 since Dec. 11 after being dropped 4-1 by the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday in Texas. Dallas had been linked to Andersson, so we’ll see if there’s a pivot for GM Jim Nill and the Stars.

Washington, meanwhile, is outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Caps — who finished second overall last season — are 6-10-3 since that same Dec. 11 date after being dropped 5-2 on Saturday by a Florida Panthers team they’re scrapping it out with for a post-season berth. Will Washington — which has the 28th-ranked power play and 23rd-ranked PK — reach for the trade lever to try to improve its fortunes?

• Now that they’re writing retool letters again, there’s going to be all kinds of attention around the New York Rangers as the deadline approaches. On Sunday, Michael Amato touched on the potential for Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trochek to be moved. While we’re at it, how about one of the hottest sticks in the league, Mika Zibanejad? The 32-year-old centre had his second hat trick of 2026 in Saturday’s 6-3 win in Philadelphia. And although Zibanejad is on an unsustainable heater — an outrageous 17 points in his past eight contests — he was basically a point-per-game player for a quarter season before that run, recording 21 points in 22 games from early November to Christmas. Zibanejad is a right shot who can play both the middle and wing. Like all the big-name Blueshirts, he’s got some trade protection, so it will be interesting to see where this goes and what teams make of a guy who has an $8.5-million cap hit through his age-36 campaign in 2029-30 (which is only one year longer than Trochek’s contract runs). 

• Speaking of heaters, check out Roman Josi putting together his fourth straight multi-point showing in Saturday’s loss to Vegas. The Preds blueliner has 10 points in his past four outings.

• Is there a Rick Bowness-led resurgence happening in Central Ohio? The Blue Jackets won in Pittsburgh 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday and have won four straight contests overall and three in a row since Bowness was hired to replace Dean Evason early last week. If the Jackets are going to make a push to get back in the playoffs, Columbus will have to stay hot during a five-game homestand that starts Tuesday versus Ottawa.

Red and White Power Rankings

1. Montreal Canadiens (27-15-7) Lane Hutson had three assists in the Canadiens’ 6-5 OTW in Ottawa on Saturday. Since Dec. 11, he’s fifth in NHL scoring with 28 points in 20 outings, and first among defencemen.  

2. Toronto Maple Leafs (24-16-8) The Leafs are working overtime these days, with five of their past eight contests going past three periods, including Saturday’s 4-3 OTW in Winnipeg. 

3. Edmonton Oilers (25-17-8) A huge stick-tap to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday and netted a goal in Edmonton’s 5-0 whitewash of St. Louis. If he plays all 32 games remaining on the Oilers schedule this year, RNH will be just five games behind Kevin Lowe for the franchise record of 1,037.  

4. Ottawa Senators (22-19-7) On Saturday, the Sens had a 5-3 third-period lead over the Canadiens and fell in OT. On Sunday, Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 first-period advantage in Detroit and couldn’t get the hay in the barn, losing 4-3 in extra time in goalie James Reimer’s debut with the club. It’s tough sledding with Linus Ullmark away from the team, but the Senators need to start stacking some two-point nights. 

5. Calgary Flames (21-23-4) As a pending UFA, Rasmus Andersson was always the most likely candidate to move among the Flames’ veteran crew. Now, we’ll really see what kind of appetite Calgary has for trading the likes of Nazem Kadri — who has three years left on his deal after this season — or the injured Blake Coleman, who is under contract through next season.  

6. Winnipeg Jets (19-22-6) For what it’s worth — and for as grim as the standings are for Winnipeg — the Jets are one of only five Western Conference clubs to have a positive five-on-five goal-differential (plus-5). 

7. Vancouver Canucks (16-27-5) In all sincerity, Vancouver — which has lost seven straight after getting hammered 6-0 by Edmonton on Saturday — is getting some important separation in the race to the bottom. If this is a rebuild, why not start with the best lottery odds to land the first pick in 2026?     

The week ahead

• The Florida Panthers play four games this week — beginning Monday night in Sunrise versus the Sharks, which will be Matthew Tkachuk’s season debut. 

• It’s a big week for players visiting their old haunts. Don’t expect anything but deafening cheers on Monday night when Jonathan Toews plays his first NHL game in Chicago since April 2023. Toews — who captained the Blackhawks to three titles between 2010 and 2015 — is playing his best hockey of the season for the Jets, with four goals and nine points in his past 11 outings. Mitch Marner isn’t going to get the same reception in Toronto, but we’ll see if there’s still some support for the hometown kid when Vegas visits the Leafs on Friday. Chicago gets a second homecoming on Sunday when Seth Jones — maybe the most important deadline pickup last year, when Florida got him from the Hawks — heads back to the Windy City, where he spent nearly four full seasons. 

• Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United Stated and the holiday brings afternoon action around the league, including a good 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT tilt in Buffalo between the Canes and Sabres. The Capitals and Avs will also clash at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT in Denver, while the Penguins and Kraken duel at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in Seattle. 

• The Red Wings have beaten the Leafs three times this season and can go for the sweep when they visit Toronto on Wednesday. After picking up an assist on Sunday against the Sens, Patrick Kane is three points away from passing Mike Modano to become the highest-scoring American-born player in NHL history. Also, he’s only 19 points away from tying Brett Hull — born in Belleville, Ont. — as the highest-scoring American, full stop. 

• Buffalo and Montreal could both suddenly have something to say about how the Atlantic Division plays out. They’ll meet for the second time in seven days when the Sabres head to Quebec on Thursday. That same night, Sidney Crosby will go head-to-head with Connor McDavid and the Oilers in Edmonton. On Saturday, it will be Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals visiting Northern Alberta.