Golden Knights ink trade-deadline acquisition to eight-year extension

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed trade deadline acquisition Noah Hanifin to an eight-year contract extension. The deal reportedly carries a $7.35M cap hit, a six-year full-no-trade clause, and full signing bonuses, per NHL insider Pierre LeBrun.

Hanifin again earns front-page news after his trade market dominated much of this year’s trade deadline prep. Vegas was a surprise landing spot for the top defender, acquiring him in a three-team trade that saw them send Daniil Miromanov, a 2025 first-round and third-round pick to the Calgary Flames and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers. Hanifin has since played 16 games with the Golden Knights, recording two goals and nine points. He’s recorded the second-most points among Vegas defensemen since joining, behind Shea Theodore’s 11 points. The scoring brings Hanifin up to 13 goals and 44 points in 77 games, flirting with his career-high 48 points posted in the 2021-22 season.

Philadelphia’s brokerage of the deal reduced Hanifin’s cap hit to just $1.2375M — just enough for Vegas to acquire Tomas Hertl’s $6.75M cap hit. The Golden Knights now have just $1.464M in off-season cap space, per CapFriendly, assuming an $87.5M salary cap. They’ll have to negotiate with seven free agents, including Jonathan Marchessault and Alec Martinez, who are now the only expiring defensemen.

While they’re almost destined to face cap troubles down the line, the Vegas Golden Knights now have Hanifin, Theodore, Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and Tomáš Hertl signed through the 2025-26 season. That’s not to mention the impactful supporting cast, like William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev and Zach Whitecloud, who are all signed through the next two seasons. Vegas couldn’t top 100 points this season, though they should be one of the final teams to secure a playoff spot. But they’ll have plenty of time for a more prolific season, with their core pieces — including three top defensemen — now locked up for the foreseeable future.