Tomas Hertl Traded To Vegas In Deadline Blockbuster
Tomas Hertl, come on down! You are a Vegas Golden Knight. Once again, the defending Stanley Cup champs have pulled the rabbit out of the hat and made another major deal. Mike Grier once again shocked the hockey world with another head-scratcher. He dealt a franchise hero, a Shark for the past decade, and retained 17% of his salary while also giving up 2 third-round picks. Mind you, his contract runs until 2030 so one of those three retention spots will be held up for a long time. Darren Dreger first had the full details of the trade:
To be clear. Hertl and two 3rds to Vegas. https://t.co/tNzFqzqxOy
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 8, 2024
When fully healthy, that Top-Six is about as deep and talented as any in hockey. Obviously, Hertl is currently on LTIR along with Mark Stone so there’s still some factors up in the air. You can call it cheating, but there’s nothing in the rulebook that prohibits the Knights or any team doing it. Sure, it is frustrating, almost rooting for players to get injured. But successful teams are innovative. Tampa did it and won back to back Cups. Gabe Landeskog hasn’t played since winning the Cup in 2022 and he might be returning. You have to be lucky to be good in the NHL. Their front office is not afraid of everything. Yes, there’s still a battle to reach the playoffs. But you have to think they will get there.
Putting The Hert On
Despite recently turning 30, Hertl is a great player. If you think back to 2016, this guy was in the heart of the lineup and helped them get within two wins of the Stanley Cup. He recently had back to back 60-point seasons on terrible Sharks teams. He would’ve gotten close to doing it again before he got hurt. Back when he had better teammates around him, this guy was a monster:
Tomas Hertl, signed to an 8x$8M extension by SJ, is a high-end two way number one centre who is well-rounded offensively and has a strong track record of strong defensive play as well. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/W3fC49x2fj
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 16, 2022
He does a little bit of everything, especially throwing the body around. He’s no slouch at six-feet-three inches tall and 215 pounds. You can even describe him as a thorn-in-your-side type of player. Bruce Cassidy will have no problem slotting into the first or second line either down the middle or on the wing. This is their third major acquisition on top of landing Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha. The rest of the league can now breathe since the deadline is officially passed.
There were a ton of deals this time around, but the story of the NHL Trade Deadline is the Vegas Golden Knights. Adding Tomas Hertl is a signal to the rest of the league that they’re going full press to defend their title.
