SportsHockey

Rasmus Andersson struggling immensely since Calgary Flames trade

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Mar 9 2026, 7:17 pm
Rasmus Andersson struggling immensely since Calgary Flames trade
Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images

Things haven’t exactly been going swimmingly for Rasmus Andersson since leaving the Calgary Flames organization.

Andersson was the first of three Flames veterans to be traded this season. The 29-year-old defenceman was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights in mid January in exchange for Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional 2027 first-round draft pick, and a conditional 2028 second-round selection.

At the time, it was a move that seemingly benefitted both teams. For the Flames, they got an everyday top-six defenceman in Whitecloud, while also adding picks and a prospect as they build toward the future. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, were bolstering their back end. Or, at least, they thought so.

After scoring 10 goals and 30 points through 48 games with the Flames, Andersson’s production has dipped with one goal and six points in 16 outings as a Golden Knight. The decline in numbers was expected, given that he’s playing fewer minutes, but it’s his overall play which has caused concerns.

Through those first 15 games with the Golden Knights, Andersson has a rather disappointing plus-minus of -6. He has struggled to mesh with several partners on the back end, resulting in many Golden Knights fans questioning whether he was the right pick up.

“I don’t get it so far,” one user wrote on X. “Seems like a 10% better version of the guy we traded for him, except he’s going to cost us 100% more? Seems like a bad deal but maybe he will get better for us.”

By nabbing Whitecloud, the Flames were able to -shot defenceman who is under contract through 2027-28 on a team-friendly $2.75-million cap hit. Andersson, on the other hand, is a pending UFA who is projected by AFP Analytics to sign a seven-year deal with a cap hit of roughly $9-million.


“He was never going to have the offensive numbers he had in Calgary when VGK runs a five forward first pp unit, and he wouldn’t even be the second defenseman they’d plug in if someone got hurt probably,” another Golden Knights fan chimed in.

“Don’t hate him or anything but he’s not [that much] better than Whitecloud to justify the first-round pick and prospect attached to him, or to justify losing a fan favourite and locker room guy.”

Whitecloud, meanwhile, has fit in seamlessly with the Flames and is already being considered part of his new team’s leadership group.

“When Whitey came in, I didn’t really know him, but when I got to know him, I was very impressed,” GM Craig Conroy said this past Friday. “I put him in that [leadership] group.”

Safe to say, this trade is looking like a massive win for Conroy and the Flames organization as a whole.

That said, it isn’t fair just yet to say the trade hasn’t worked out for the Golden Knights, either. It was always going to be an adjustment for Andersson moving to a new organization for the first time in his NHL career. He has 18 more games to settle in before the playoffs start, and it will be his play at that time that helps dictate whether or not this trade paid off in the Golden Knights’ favour.

ADVERTISEMENT