The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames for Daniil Miromanov, a conditional 2025 first-round pick, and a conditional 2025 third-round pick. The Philadelphia Flyers receive Vegas' 2024 fifth-round pick.

The Golden Knights receive: Hanifin, who was believed to be the best defenseman currently on the trade block. He is set to become a UFA at the end of the season, although rumor has it that he and the Golden Knights are currently working on an extension. The Flames have been in sell mode, and it was widely believed that Hanifin would not re-sign in Calgary.

The Flames receive: Miromanov, a 26-year-old blueliner who was out of the lineup until January this year because of a season-ending injury last season. He has yet to play an entire NHL season, having played in 29 games total over three NHL seasons.  

Fantasy impact: Hanifin was a top-4 defender for the Flames, ranking second on the team with 23:46 ATOI. He should slot in alongside Alex Pietrangelo on the Golden Knights' top pair, especially now that Pietrangelo's regular partner Alec Martinez has been placed on IR. Hanifin has generally been a second-unit power-play option throughout his career, having never received over 50% of his team's power-play minutes in any of his nine NHL seasons. With Shea Theodore now back from injury and Pietrangelo also a power-play option, there's no reason to assume Hanifin will jump to the front of the line in terms of power-play time.

Overall, the trade shouldn't impact Hanifin's numbers a great deal. The Flames and Golden Knights have posted similar offensive totals, although Calgary's power play has been considerably worse than that of Vegas. Hanifin has already scored a career-high 11 goals on a career-high 8.9 SH%, and he has a chance to surpass his career high of 48 points, set two seasons ago.

Martinez has been struggling this season (CF%: 42.44), although it could be injury-related. Now 36 years of age, Martinez could see his role diminished when he returns, which would reduce his high blocked shot totals. Martinez led the league with 242 BkS last season, while no other player reached 200 BkS.

There's lots to say about the way that the Golden Knights have handled LTIR in recent seasons, as well as the condition on the first-round pick that still allows Vegas to trade it and give Calgary their 2026 first-rounder instead. However, the focus here is instead on the basic trade information and the fantasy implications. In terms of what could happen between now and Friday's deadline, Vegas is still in a position to add more pieces, including the biggest name on the market in Jake Guentzel.

As for Miromanov, he has agreed to a two-year extension with an AAV of $1.25 million with the Flames. He will have an opportunity to play on the Flames full-time now that Hanifin and Chris Tanev have both been traded. Miromanov has some offensive upside, having posted 68 points in 95 career AHL games.

Players this helps, in order:

Miromanov

Oliver Kylington

Joel Hanley

Hanifin

Players this hurts, in order:

Martinez

Nicolas Hague

Tobias Bjornfot

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