Andersson glad to join 'real contender' following trade to Golden Knights

TORONTO -- Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin stood outside the Vegas Golden Knights locker room at Scotiabank Arena after the 6-3 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs Friday, yukking it up like they were long lost friends.

That's because they're exactly that.

Not to mention reunited defense partners.

That, in itself, symbolizes the shrewd move made by the Golden Knights, spearheaded by general manager Kelly McCrimmon, in acquiring Andersson from the Calgary Flames last Sunday for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, defenseman prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a conditional second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.

"It's like we were never apart," Hanifin joked.

In reality, it was 683 days between the trade that brought Hanifin from Calgary on March 6, 2024, and the acquisition of Andersson on Jan. 18.

You'd never have known it by watching them against the Maple Leafs in what was Andersson's seamless Vegas debut. The 29-year-old, playing most of the game alongside Hanifin, had an assist, was plus-1 and blocked three shots in 21:33 of ice time, a workload that showed how much trust Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy has in him.

"Noah and I are really familiar with each other," Andersson said. "It feels like yesterday that we played together. He's a hell of a player. And he's easy to play with.

"We just try to make it as simple as possible for each other."

For Cassidy, putting Andersson and Hanifin back together was an easy decision. He liked what he saw from the newest Golden Knights player heading into their game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, SCRIPPS).

"Good puck mover. On his toes. Kind of real assertive in his decision making," Cassidy said, adding that "he should only get better with us.

"The one thing is, he's played with [Hanifin] a lot so that probably helped him a little bit."

Andersson has nothing but praise for the Flames, who selected him in the second round (No. 53) of the 2015 NHL Draft, saying their split after a 10-year stint was nothing but amicable.

But with the Flames rebuilding, the veteran was looking for an environment that featured more of a win-now mentality. From Calgary's perspective, Andersson was the type of coveted asset around the League that would fetch building blocks for the future.

The trade seemed to check the appropriate boxes for each team.

Including the assist against the Maple Leafs, Andersson has 262 points (57 goals, 205 assists) in 585 games including 31 (10 goals, 21 assists) in 49 games this season. His puck-moving skills and ability to play a 200-foot game helped him be selected for Team Sweden for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 next month.

To that end, he said he's glad the transaction took place prior to heading to Italy.

"It's just nice to have it done," he said. "I mean, I'm super grateful for everything that the Flames and the people in Calgary did for me. I loved every second I was there. At the same time, it was time for them and time for me to try something different, and I couldn't be happier to be here.

"You look at this lineup, and this is a real contender. And that's what I wanted to go to."