March 5, 2025 | 12:40pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

EYES ON VEGAS AS DEADLINE APPROACHES

Tomas Hertl, forward

The Vegas Golden Knights are not afraid to make big, bold moves to improve their chances of competing for a Stanley Cup. With Friday’s 3pm ET trade deadline fast approaching, all eyes are on what Vegas pulls off in the coming days.

The Knights have been reportedly connected to several players recently, including the likes of Brock Nelson, Brock Boeser, Yanni Gourde, Brayden Schenn and Rickard Rakell, among others. All these players rank on the TFP Trade Watch List.

How aggressive GM Kelly McCrimmon gets this week is anybody’s guess, however. And according to the GM himself, he does not believe his team will make a big splash this season. Truth, or posturing?

“We’ll do the work, we’ll be engaged and see what possibilities are there for us, but I don’t anticipate us making any big trades,” McCrimmon told NHL.com. “You never say never. You do your due diligence. And with so many teams still in the wildcard hunt, some might not decide if they are buyers or sellers until right before the deadline. So, there may be players who become available at that point who are not being discussed right now.

“It’s going to change here in the next few days. I think it’s going to be pretty fluid between now and the deadline of March 7. But for us, we didn’t intend to be big buyers. I like the makeup of our team.”

Last season, the Golden Knights surprised the hockey world when they acquired Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks, a deal first reported by TFP’s David Pagnotta on NHL Network’s trade deadline coverage.

Vegas is expected, as McCrimmon indicated, to keep their options open. Surely, if the right deal presents itself, they are not afraid to pounce.

“I think championships are won on how those teams are built. Sometimes you need the big splash, sometimes you just need that one piece,” McCrimmon stated. “I’m sure lots of examples where teams made a big acquisition and made the difference, so we’ve been active at most Trade Deadlines. The year we won was perhaps one of our more modest when you look at some of the other Trade Deadlines.”