Not satisfied with one Stanley Cup, the Vegas Golden Knights are making a strong push to defend their title. On Wednesday, the Golden Knights landed Noah Hanifin in a trade with the Calgary Flames, the teams announced.
Hanifin has been on the trading block for most of the season, and the Golden Knights beat out several other suitors to win his services. In exchange for Hanifin, Vegas sent a first-round pick in 2025 or 2026, a conditional third-round pick, and defenseman Daniil Miromanov to Calgary. The first-round pick will be in 2025, unless the Golden Knights trade it this year, in which case it gets pushed to 2026.
Hanifin is in the final year of his contract, and the Flames retained 50% of his $4.95 million salary cap hit. The Philadelphia Flyers served as a third-party broker in the deal, retaining another 25% of Hanifin's salary while receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick from the Golden Knights for their trouble.
Hanifin, 27, is in his ninth NHL season already and has become a rock solid puck-moving defenseman. His strong skating ability makes Hanifin an effective player in all three zones, and he has 35 points in 61 games this season, including a career-high 11 goals. In 625 career games, Hanifin has piled up 60 goals and 214 assists.
When it comes to his defensive performance at five-on-five, Hanifin hasn't been quite as strong as in past seasons, but that could be a product of having a worse roster around him. That will not be a problem in Vegas, where the defensive group already consists of Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb.
Between that group and the goaltending talents of Adin Hill, teams will have a hard time scoring on the Golden Knights in the playoffs.
This isn't even the first move Vegas has made before the trade deadline. On Tuesday, the Golden Knights sent a pair of draft picks to the Washington Capitals in exchange for winger Anthony Mantha, who has 20 goals on the season.
Once players like Mark Stone and William Carrier get healthy enough to return to the lineup, the defending Cup champs will be as deep as they've ever been.
