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3 acquisitions at the NHL trade deadline that will exponentially reward their new teams

Now that the NHL trade deadline is out of the way let’s talk about a trio of players who won’t make an immediate impact on their new teams.

By Todd Matthews

New York Rangers v San Jose Sharks
New York Rangers v San Jose Sharks / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages
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Tomas Hertl was a sneaky good blockbuster at the NHL trade deadline

It will be a while before the Golden Knights get their return on Tomas Hertl, but if there was ever a steal at the 2024 NHL trade deadline, it involved the 30-year-old. Hertl has a cap hit of over $8 million, and he’s locked in until the 2029-30 season, so the Golden Knights landed a forward who will be in Vegas for the rest of the decade, and one who is entrenched in the prime of his career. 

Signing Hertl long-term made little sense for the Sharks in hindsight, so trading him to a perennial contender is the best thing general manager Mike Grier could have done. Eventually, this season, the Golden Knights will see Hertl’s presence pay off, as he’s a complete forward who will play top-six minutes when healthy, win faceoffs, steal pucks, finish checks on opponents, and score. 

Before he went down with a knee injury this season, Hertl was putting up sensational numbers despite playing for a San Jose Sharks team that has yet to get consistent in the offensive zone this season. In 48 games, however, Hertl still had 34 points and 15 goals. If you adjust that to an 82-game stretch, that’s 58 points on a terrible hockey team.  

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