NHL Trade Rumors: Best Landing Spot For Rasmus Andersson
Calgary is almost certainly trending toward a retool phase, and moving a high-value defenseman in the final year of his contract is beginning to look inevitable.
Vegas has an immediate opening on the right side of their defense after losing Alex Pietrangelo to long term injured reserve, and Andersson checks every box the Golden Knights chase.
Vegas has the clearest positional need
Without Pietrangelo, Vegas has a noticeably weaker blue line on the right side, forcing Noah Hanifin to carry a younger partner in Kaedan Korczak. Dropping Andersson into that slot would instantly stabilize the Golden Knights’ top four and reunite him with Hanifin, a pairing that worked well in Calgary.
Weird but interesting #Flames stat:
— Colton Pankiw (@Coltonpankiw) November 21, 2025
Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar lead the NHL by a wide margin in shifts this season. Kevin Bahl sits third. pic.twitter.com/hulNZm2xGJ
At a manageable 4.55 million dollar cap hit, and with LTIR space available, Vegas can make the number work, but only if the Flames retain salary, which would likely have to be at around 50%.
That's steep, but with a strong return and just one year remaining on Andersson's contract, it would be worth it, especially if the Flames don't believe they can re-sign him.
The real challenge is the trade price
The hurdle in this hypothetical trade is the trade capital. Calgary general manager Craig Conroy has no interest in short-term roster swaps; he needs futures and high-end prospects to rebuild properly.
That is where Vegas struggles. After years of aggressive buying for Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone, the franchise owns one of the thinnest prospect pools in the NHL and already traded their 2026 first-round pick.
Recording 2 points in his team's 5-2 defeat to the Blackhawks last night, Rasmus Andersson's goal in the process was the 51st of his NHL career. With it, he enters tonight vs the Sabres trailing just 6 other defencemen on this list of totals with the @NHLFlames franchise (1972-) pic.twitter.com/VFOS1TDsji
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) November 19, 2025
Any serious offer likely starts with their No. 1 prospect Trevor Connelly and additional draft picks spread over future years. If an extension for Andersson is part of the deal, that price climbs even higher.
Still the best landing spot if Calgary opens bidding
Other contenders will be involved, and teams with stronger prospect pools may try to outbid Vegas. But no club offers a better fit, a more obvious role, or a more aggressive history of landing stars than the Golden Knights.
If Calgary officially makes Andersson available and grants permission for extension talks, Vegas will almost certainly be in the center of the chase.
Also, if Kelly McCrimmon believes Andersson is the missing piece for another Stanley Cup, history suggests he will push every remaining chip forward.
Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
