The Calgary Flames are trading their No. 1 defenceman.
Rasmus Andersson has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Golden Knights announced Sunday.
The Flames will receive defenceman Zach Whitecloud, college prospect Abram Wiebe, a 2027 first-round pick and a conditional 2028 second-round pick, which will become a first if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup this year.
The Flames will retain 50 per cent of Andersson’s salary.
Andersson indicated Sunday that he wouldn’t sign an extension with any interested teams, according to Friedman during an appearance on Flames Talk. The decision knocked the Boston Bruins out of trade talks with Calgary, making Vegas the preferred deal.
“His agent came to us, and said — which is his right — that ‘Hey, we’ve decided we’re not going to sign with any team,'” general manager Craig Conroy said Sunday on Flames Talk. “So that definitely changes how you’re working with teams and what you’re trying to get and what teams are going to be involved.
“So, it would’ve been nice if they were open to signing with a team, but they weren’t, and you’re trying to make the best deal and help the Calgary Flames.”
The move marks the end of a 10-year career for Andersson with the Flames, in which he established himself as one of the top defencemen in franchise history. Since debuting in 2016, Andersson is among the Flames defencemen leaders in games played (584), goals (57) and points (261).
Andersson, who has been with the Flames since being drafted in the second round in 2015, had been Calgary’s most relied-upon defenceman this season, averaging 24:14 of ice time over 48 games — a factor that motivated Conroy to get a deal done.
“There’s always a chance of injury,” the Flames GM explained. “So, we felt the sooner we could get a deal done that we felt comfortable and happy with, we would do it.”
Andersson was selected 53rd overall by the Flames at the 2015 NHL Draft. The 29-year-old is in the final year of his six-year, $27.3 million contract and is due a raise from his $4.5 million cap hit. There is no extension currently in place as part of the deal.
He will represent Sweden at next month’s Winter Olympics in Milan.
Whitecloud, 29, is a long-time member of the Golden Knights, signing with the team as an undrafted college free agent in 2018.
Over his eight seasons in the NHL, the Brandon, Man., native has 23 goals and 55 assists through 368 games. He helped Vegas win the Cup in 2023, playing in all 22 post-season contests and registering two goals and six assists.
Though 47 games this season, he has two goals and five assists while playing an average of 18:46 of ice time a night.
Whitecloud is in Year 4 of a six-year deal that carries a $2.75 million cap hit. As first reported by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Golden Knights will only be charged $2.275 million against the cap for Andersson’s contract after the Flames retained 50 per cent, a savings of $475,000.
Wiebe, 22, is a collegiate hockey player, currently suiting up as a junior for the University of North Dakota. The defenceman has three goals and 11 assists in 24 games this season.
A native of Mission, B.C., Wiebe was selected by the Golden Knights 209th overall in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
With the trade, the Flames now own Vegas’s first-round picks in 2026 and 2027. They acquired the former pick as part of the Noah Hanifin trade during the 2023-24 season.
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