The Vegas Golden Knights made the first big move of the months leading up to the 2025–26 NHL season by securing Mitch Marner, the former Toronto Maple Leafs star, on an eight-year, $96 million deal. For the Paradise-based franchise, this is no time to settle, they now appear to be serious contenders for a star defenseman from the Calgary Flames.
Marner’s long saga in Toronto finally came to an end after his six-year contract expired, leading him to find a new home. What seemed like a hectic offseason turned into a decisive move by Vegas, who pulled off a last-minute sign-and-trade deal, sending forward Nicolas Roy in exchange.
The sign-and-trade allowed Vegas to offer Marner an eighth year on his contract, something that wouldn’t have been possible if he had joined as a free agent (where the maximum is seven years). Now, the Canadian team wants to go after another star currently playing for the Flames.
Which player could join Marner on the Golden Knights?
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson has a very short list of teams he would be willing to sign an extension with, and right now, Vegas sits at the top of that list.
“As of Monday, the team that tops [Andersson’s] list is the Vegas Golden Knights… right now, it sounds like it’s Vegas for him,” LeBrun reported. Calgary and Vegas have been engaged in multiple conversations, but the Flames are still not satisfied with the Golden Knights’ current offer.
Will Andersson end up in Vegas?
Vegas has made it clear it wants to add a defenseman of Andersson’s caliber. It even considered including defenseman Nicolas Hague in a package deal, but he was already traded to the Nashville Predators. Andersson has one year left on his current contract with a $4.55 million cap hit and reportedly turned down talks about extensions with other interested teams.