"The Boston Bruins came up short in the Rasmus Andersson sweepstakes on Sunday evening. Despite longtime NHL insider Elliotte Friedman's report that Boston was in the "driver's seat" in trade talks for the veteran right-shot defenseman, the Calgary Flames ultimately opted to ship Andersson to Vegas. The return? The Golden Knights gave up defenseman Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 second-round pick, and prospect Abram Wiebe to complete the deal."
"But, perhaps the most telling part of that Western Conference swap was that Andersson - a pending free agent - arrived in Vegas without a contract extension in place. For a win-now team like Vegas (that ideally still wants to still sign Andersson long-term), they can least operate with the potential risk of Andersson walking this summer, especially if it puts them over the top in May or June."
"Beyond his value as a legitimate top-four, right-shot defenseman, Andersson has averaged 24:01 of ice time over the last four seasons with Calgary. Since the 2023-24 season, only six players have also blocked more shots than Andersson (472). A Bruins D corps anchored by players all inked to long-term deals in Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and a 29-year-old Andersson would give Boston a stout foundation on defense for the next few years."
The Boston Bruins targeted veteran right-shot defenseman Rasmus Andersson but lost the trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas sent Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 second-round pick, and prospect Abram Wiebe to Calgary. Andersson arrived in Vegas as a pending unrestricted free agent without an extension. Andersson averaged 24:01 of ice time over the last four seasons and recorded 472 blocked shots since 2023-24, ranking among the NHL leaders. Adding Andersson would have paired a 29-year-old top-four defenseman with Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Nikita Zadorov, strengthening Boston's long-term defensive core. Boston's forward pipeline includes prospects James Hagens, Will Zellers, and Dean Letourneau.
Read at Boston.com
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