Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon made one move at the NHL’s Trade Deadline Monday, picking up forward Mattias Janmark from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Janmark, 28, has 10 goals and nine assists in 41 games with Chicago, seeing eight of his total 19 points coming on the powerplay.
McCrimmon made key deals in his acquisition of Janmark, sending a 2021 second round draft pick and a 2022 third round draft pick to Chicago. The Blackhawks retained 50% of Janmark’s salary in return to assist Vegas’ current salary cap woes.
The unlikeliest of teams came to the Golden Knights’ assistance, retaining the other 50% of Janmark’s $2.25 million salary. San Jose received one 2022 fifth round draft pick from Chicago in return.
The addition of Janmark to the Golden Knights’ lineup brings an infusion of scoring to the top nine.
"He has the ability to compliment really good players,” McCrimmon said of Janmark. “That versatility is going to be important to us.”
Janmark is familiar with the Golden Knights. The Swedish forward faced Vegas in the Western Conference Final in the Edmonton Playoff Bubble last season with the Dallas Stars.
"He’s had an excellent year in Chicago in an elevated role from what he had in Dallas,” McCrimmon continued. “We have a really good history of viewing this player in the bubble in Edmonton.”
Vegas was extremely close to standing pat at the deadline and not making any moves, however McCrimmon still made a move.
"Our players have performed well,” McCrimmon said. “We believe in them and we never considered taking anyone out of the mix this season.”
One additional player was acquired in the deal, American Hockey League defenseman Nick DeSimone, who Vegas received from San Jose. DeSimone has four assists in four games with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
While DeSimone will be on Vegas’ contract books, he will be re-assigned to the Barracuda and will not be fully a part of the Golden Knights’ organization. DeSimone was a required piece to make a third team salary retainment, as a player must be attached to the deal.
Janmark is expected to join the Golden Knights’ in Los Angeles for their game Wednesday against the Kings. Janmark’s is also expected to feature in Vegas’ top three lines.
Vegas has 11 games to try to fit Janmark on a line before the Playoffs start, starting Wednesday in LA.
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