Once again, the Vegas Golden Knights are at the forefront of the NHL Trade Deadline.
One day after addressing their forward corps with the addition of Anthony Mantha, the Golden Knights capped off a busy Wednesday of trade activity across the league by landing the top defenseman on the market. General manager Kelly McCrimmon acquired Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames for a conditional 2025 first-round pick, conditional 2025 third-round pick, and defenseman Daniil Miromanov, while also sending a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers to absorb 25% of Hanifin’s salary.
Let’s break down this major move, and what it means for a blue line that has now gone from very good to potentially elite.
Golden Knights Got a Bang For Their Buck
The early reaction to the Hanifin trade has leaned heavily in the Golden Knights’ favor, and rightfully so. Facing the challenges of a cap crunch and a thin prospect pool, McCrimmon and the front office still managed to land a top-pair defenseman without depleting their future draft resources or already-thin prospect pool.
The first-round selection will likely be a late pick, featuring conditions that still enable the club to maintain a high level of flexibility (more on that later). The conditional third-rounder becomes a second in the rather likely event that Vegas advances past the first round this year, while the first can become a 2026 pick if the club strikes another deal for their 2025 first-round draft choice before the deadline. Miromanov, meanwhile, has shown flashes of potential but is already 26, still hasn’t secured full-time NHL status, and lost much of this season to an undisclosed injury.
There are assets there, to be sure, but nothing that wasn’t worth parting with in order to add Hanifin. While the 27-year-old doesn’t excel in one particular area, he can do just about everything very well. He adds more puck-handling and speed to the Golden Knights’ back end, but also adds yet another dimension of size and physicality to a blue line that isn’t lacking for it. Offensively, he has 11 goals and 35 points thus far this season, good for first among Vegas defenders in both categories.
Hanifin’s Fit and Future
While it certainly never hurts to add talent, especially at a reasonable price, the necessity of the move can be questioned from a Golden Knights standpoint. With Hanifin likely to be paired with Alex Pietrangelo, with Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore filling out the top four (at least until Alec Martinez returns from injury), the Vegas blue line is almost comically deep. Minutes could be hard to come by for Zach Whitecloud, Nicolas Hague, and Ben Hutton, all accomplished defenders in their own right.
That’s a nice problem to have for the club’s title defense and playoff push but starts getting more complicated when it comes to re-signing Hanifin and keeping the core of the team together beyond this season. Even with a rising cap, locking up the former Flame would almost surely extend the trade cost beyond the aforementioned return assets. Martinez, also an unrestricted free agent, would be all but gone. There would also be less money to dedicate to a forward group in need of new contracts that includes Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Mantha.
Of course, winning another Stanley Cup would take much of the angst out of any tough off-season decisions forthcoming, which is what Hanifin is here for.
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Is Vegas Done?
It’s hard to believe we can still say this, but the Golden Knights may not be done dealing just yet. With Mantha and Hanifin in the fold, no one would fault the team’s brass for patting themselves on the back and considering their trade deadline work a fait accompli.
However, McCrimmon’s work on these deals and exploitation of LTIR has still left wiggle room for more. From a trade asset standpoint, the club has managed to maintain control of their 2024 and 2025 first-rounders, even after sending a future first to Calgary. Financially, thanks to the retained salaries on both Mantha and Hanifin, the duo will count for roughly $4 million against the Vegas cap, leaving around $3 million to be used. Just putting this out there: if the Pittsburgh Penguins were willing to retain 50% of Jake Guentzel’s contract, the Golden Knights would be on the hook for $3 million.
While so much of the league is maneuvering to add depth defensemen and supporting pieces, leave it to McCrimmon and the Golden Knights to go ahead and add the best blue liner on the market. We may not know the full cost of acquiring Hanifin for some time, but it may not matter if he helps them become back-to-back champions.
