Trade Grades: Noah Hanifin To Vegas
Noah Hanifin is officially a member of the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s late and my anxiety is off the charts after waiting for the full details of the trade with Calgary to get released. Let’s get right to the trade grades.
Calgary Flames: Grade C
When you think about the Hampus Lindholm trade from a few years ago, Calgary fell well short of that mark on a return. Daniil Miromanov is an interesting player the Flames are getting but he’s still very much a project. Miromanov is a converted winger now playing defense who played in the KHL prior to joining the Golden Knights. Miromanov is also 26, was undrafted, and was expected to be a group of six free agent in the offseason.
To just get one first round pick along with a conditional pick feels like a pretty light return. It couldn’t have been what the Flames hoped for when this process started. A C grade seems fair given that Calgary was backed into a corner and they lost leverage. To get a first round pick back doesn’t feel like a total loss but given the success rate of late first rounders, it certainly feels like a light package.
Vegas Golden Knights: Grade A-
It wasn’t the trade I thought Vegas would make, but given the circumstances, I’m not sure you can complain. I’ll be the first to admit; I thought the Flames would get more than this to whoever they traded Hanifin to. I think a number of things worked in Vegas’ favor to land Hanifin for a discounted rate.
Hanifin wanted Tampa but the Lightning have zero assets. He was also fine with Florida but they also don’t have a first round pick until 2026. It allowed the Knights to jump in and land the top defenseman on the market.
Hanifin got more and more leverage as the process went along. The extension became a pretty big sticking point and needed to be sent somewhere he would stay long term. It became pretty easy to top whatever Tampa and Florida could offer. A little recruiting pitch from Jack Eichel ought to do the trick. Eichel and Hanifin and apparently really good friends having both grown up in Massachusetts.
The only reason I can’t give it an A or A+ is because they still gave up draft capital. A first, conditional third, and fourth isn’t nothing. However, they have left the door open to continue to add. There is a stipulation in the trade that states Vegas can send their 2026 pick they want to leaving the door open to add more.
At the end of the day, this trade took balls and you have to respect it. Alec Martinez is a really good players but he’s clearly running out of gas. Kelly McCrimmon didn’t hesitate and just broke up a Stanley Cup winning blue line. This organization doesn’t care about anything else other than winning. Hanifin fits right in salary wise too taking Martinez’s cap hit for next year.
Who do you think won the deal? Make sure to comment below.
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