‘We’re hopeful to retain him’: Golden Knights see long-term future with Andersson

There comes a point, Kelly McCrimmon said, that hockey teams need playmakers.

The Vegas Golden Knights general manager feels Rasmus Andersson fits that mold.

McCrimmon said Andersson is “very much what we were looking for” in his first comments since acquiring the defenseman from the Calgary Flames in a blockbuster deal Sunday.

“I think he’s really going to add to our hockey club,” McCrimmon said Monday before the Knights took on the Philadelphia Flyers at T-Mobile Arena.

The Knights acquired the 29-year-old blueliner — and the most sought-after name on the trade market — for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, their 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick that can become a first if the Knights win the Stanley Cup.

That’s the price the Knights are paying to bring in a player that McCrimmon feels is worth it.

“He’s going to help our team speed by being able to move the puck, transport the puck, even carrying it and passing it,” McCrimmon said. “He can make plays.”

Knights’ debut on hold

Andersson has yet to arrive in Las Vegas due to immigration processing. McCrimmon didn’t provide a timeline on when he expects Andersson to join the team, but the Knights begin a four-game road trip Thursday in Boston that includes stops in eastern Canada.

Andersson also joins the Knights without a contract extension in place. He’s in the final year of a six-year, $27.3 million deal he signed with Calgary.

McCrimmon said the Knights haven’t had discussions with Andersson’s agent Claude Lemieux yet, but the plan is to keep Andersson in the fold long term.

“We’re hopeful to retain him,” McCrimmon said. “That was part of the motivation to trade for the player, but we haven’t had those discussions as of yet.”

Andersson was the Flames’ workhorse on the back end, averaging a career-high 24:14 of ice time with 30 points. His 10 goals are tied for eighth among defensemen in the league.

It’ll be a slightly different role than in Calgary. He won’t be on the power play because of the Knights’ five-forward unit. He won’t log extra minutes because Shea Theodore will draw the top matchup defensively most nights.

Most of Andersson’s work will come at five-on-five and the penalty kill, much like Whitecloud.

“I think Rasmus Andersson can do all that defensively,” McCrimmon said.

Adding to improved defense

The Knights’ interest in Andersson dates to the offseason. Reports at the time suggested they were Andersson’s preferred destination from the beginning.

The timing of the deal came at a unique time. The Knights entered Monday with a season-high seven-game winning streak after losing eight of their previous nine games.

They allowed 19 goals (2.7 per game) entering Monday, an indication their team defense was turning the corner.

If the Knights made the trade during their run of losing, it would’ve been viewed as a panic move, McCrimmon said. Because they’ve won seven in a row doesn’t change the long-term view of adding Andersson.

“We’re trading for this player for the rest of the season,” McCrimmon said. “It’s a lot longer of a view.”

McCrimmon felt confident in the status of his blue line in the offseason, even knowing they weren’t going to have Alex Pietrangelo (hip) for the season.

Andersson isn’t quite the player that the future Hall of Famer is, but McCrimmon feels adding Andersson can bring some of those same playmaking elements that Pietrangelo had.

“(Pietrangelo), for me, was so good at that,” McCrimmon said. “He was strong in so many areas, but that was one of the things that when you get to playoff games, when you get to playing tough opponents, you need playmakers, and I think we’ve added one in Rasmus Andersson. (I) just really feel it gives us a strong defense.”

“When you get to playoff games, when you get to playing tough opponents, you need playmakers, and I think we’ve added one in Rasmus Andersson.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.