The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks, the latest blockbuster addition during a deadline which also saw them add top defenseman Noah Hanifin, and secondary scorer Anthony Mantha.
The price to acquire Hertl, and a pair of third round picks (2025 and 2027), was a first-round pick in 2025, and David Edstrom. The Sharks retained 17% of the remainder of Hertl’s contract, so he will be on the Golden Knights’ cap at just $6.75 million a season for the next six years.
Hertl is currently injured, but the expectation is he will return in the regular season. He is a very impactful player, and likely will be even more productive on the Golden Knights because he no longer will have to shoulder the load as the team’s best player.
His results this season have been pretty solid, and he’s primarily driving offense at 5v5, while also having decent enough defensive impacts too. Hertl joins the Golden Knights with a career stat line that includes 218 goals and 266 assists for 484 points in 712 games, and will likely slot in as a second-line center when all is said and done. It remains to be seen how all the lines will shake out when healthy, but the Golden Knights had an amazing deadline without sacrificing talent from the main roster.
They will need to get back to winning ways soon, as the recent dip in play has resulted in them falling to the 2nd Wild Card spot with a record of 33-23-7 and 73 points in 63 games. Edmonton currently sits in 2nd in the Pacific with 78 points in 61 games, and Los Angeles is in 3rd with 75 points in 62 games. Nashville holds the top Wild Card spot with 75 points in 64 games.