There was a blockbuster trade in the National Hockey League on Sunday night. The Calgary Flames have traded defenseman Rasmus Andersson of Malmo, Sweden to the Vegas Golden Knights according to Rogers Sportsnet. In return, the Flames will receive defenseman Zach Whitecloud of Brandon, Manitoba, prospect defenseman Abram Wiebe of Mission, British Columbia and two draft picks. They are a first round pick in 2027, and a conditional second round pick in 2028. That draft pick will become a first round pick if the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2025-26.
Andersson has played his entire career with the Flames. He was initially Calgary’s second round pick, 53rd overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Trade Expected
There had been wide speculation that Andersson would be traded because he was considered a valuable blueliner and an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. It was just a matter of when and to whom. The Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars were expected to be among the teams showing interest in Andersson too. It was even reported that the Bruins gave Andersson a trade offer on Saturday, but in the end, Andersson stayed in the Western Conference.
Andersson’s statistics in 2025-26
In 48 games, Andersson had 10 goals and 20 assisted for 30 points. He is a +3 with 53 penalty minutes, 10 power-play points, 112 shots on goal, 90 blocked shots, 29 hits, 18 takeaways and 66 giveaways.
Significant improvements compared to last year
Andersson struggled mightily last season. He was a -38 on a good Flames team that was close to making the postseason but lost a tie breaker against the St. Louis Blues. Andersson saw a +41 improvement in the plus/minus category, and only has one fewer point this season compared to last year.
Leading the Pacific
Thee Golden Knights are red hot at the moment as they are winners of seven straight games and have 60 points. They have two more points than the second place Edmonton Oilers.
Grading the Trade
I am going to give both teams a B grade. The Golden Knights felt it was important to upgrade the blueline, especially with Alex Pietrangelo not playing at all this season with a hip injury. The fact that Andersson was a -38 last season still cannot be ignored, and why Vegas did not get an A. The Flames knew they were going to lose Andersson in free agency. It was just going to be a matter of time before they would find a trade partner. Two draft picks, one defenseman with NHL experience and a college prospect is what was expected.
