The NHL’s annual trade deadline has become a memorable time of year for the Golden Knights.
They’ve done something to shake things up almost every season they’ve been in the league. That includes executing some of the most memorable deals in recent NHL history.
There have been some misses along the way — forward Tomas Tatar did not pan out as hoped, while goaltender Robin Lehner’s tenure was complicated for several reasons — but the Knights have been successful more times than not.
They’ve made deals that have helped the team even in years they didn’t make a big splash. Left wing Mattias Janmark scored a hat trick in Game 7 of the first round of the 2021 playoffs, for example. Center Teddy Blueger and goaltender Jonathan Quick served as important depth pieces during the Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2023.
This year’s trade deadline, which is noon Friday, provides a good opportunity to remember some of the most notable deals in franchise history. Here are the top five:
5. Tomas Hertl – acquired March 8, 2024
The Knights’ most surprising deadline acquisition in their first six seasons was Lehner in 2020.
Hertl then jumped to the top spot last year.
The Knights shocked the NHL world by getting the center and a third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a first-round pick and center prospect David Edstrom.
Hertl was a Shark when the team’s rivalry with the Knights was at a fever pitch. He scored a game-winning double overtime goal for San Jose in Game 6 of the first-round series between the two teams in 2019. The Sharks, of course, won Game 7 in dramatic fashion after a controversial major penalty call on center Cody Eakin.
Hertl’s Knights tenure got off to a slow start, in part because he was recovering from knee surgery when the trade was made. The 31-year-old has looked much better his second season with the team with 46 points in 60 games.
4. Noah Hanifin – acquired March 6, 2024
The Knights pulled off a smaller surprise two days before landing Hertl. They acquired Hanifin from the Calgary Flames for a first-round pick, a third-round pick and defenseman Daniil Miromanov.
The Knights then locked up Hanifin long term with an eight-year, $58.8 million extension. The team believed in his potential as a two-way defenseman, and he stood out enough to make Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Hanifin, 28, has 28 points in 60 games this season.
3. Alec Martinez – acquired Feb. 19, 2020
Martinez was another player that left a Pacific Division rival to join the Knights.
The defenseman, after more than a decade with the Los Angeles Kings, was moved for two second-round picks. Martinez had a tricky adjustment period. The NHL season paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic three weeks after he was dealt.
“It was an interesting time. I get traded here, played (10) games and then the whole world shuts down,” Martinez said.
Martinez became a beloved member of the locker room and a stalwart on the blue line. He scored a goal in Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final to help the Knights win their first championship. It was his third after winning it all with the Kings in 2012 and 2014.
Martinez, 37, left the Knights this offseason to sign a one-year, $4 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. He ended his time in Las Vegas with 79 points in 221 regular season-games and 21 points in 67 playoff games.
2. Ivan Barbashev – acquired Feb. 27, 2023
Barbashev was considered a depth add at first. He ended up being a top-line forward.
The Knights added Barbashev in exchange for 2021 first-round pick Zach Dean. The left wing previously won a Cup as a bottom-six forward with the St. Louis Blues, but was put on his new team’s top line with center Jack Eichel and right wing Jonathan Marchessault.
Barbashev had six goals and 16 points in 23 games his first regular season with the Knights, then added 18 points in 22 playoff games during the team’s championship run. That earned him a five-year, $25 million extension that summer.
Barbashev has remained a fixture on Eichel’s wing. He scored 19 goals last season.
1. Mark Stone – acquired Feb. 25, 2019
The Knights’ first blockbuster deadline deal was also their best. It gave them their first captain and the first player in team history to hoist the Stanley Cup.
The Knights acquired Stone, who played for general manager Kelly McCrimmon in junior hockey with the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings, for 2017 first-round pick Erik Brannstrom, left wing Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round pick. The team also got right wing Tobias Lindberg.
Stone signed an eight-year, $76 million extension less than two weeks later and was named the Knights’ first captain Jan. 13, 2021. He’s the fourth-leading scorer in team history with 307 points in 320 games.
Stone, five months removed from his second back surgery in less than a year, also scored a hat trick in Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final to lead the Knights to their first championship.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
