Tomas Hertl has always been a pain in the butt for the Vegas Golden Knights. Okay, not quite. The Czech center has seven goals and nine assists in 27 career games against his current team. That might not inspire much confidence, especially when he's played for mediocre San Jose Sharks clubs.
However, the Turtle made VGK history on Monday. He scored 40 goals for the Golden Knights in 94 games, which was the third-fewest amount of games for any player in franchise history.
Tomas Hertl made some VGK history last night 🤩🐢#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/TSh9C6Lpz2
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 11, 2025
This season, Hertl has been his usual "Fun Must Be Always" self, scoring six goals and six assists in 15 games. He's on pace for 33 goals and 33 assists, picking up from his 2024-25 campaign of 32 goals and 29 assists. Last season, he also set the franchise record for the most single-season power play goals with 14, resurrecting the unit to be the NHL's second-best group (28.3%).
The former Shark has always been a prominent goal-scorer, scoring 258 goals in his career. It's promising to see the 31-year-old pick up where he left off, specifically on a depleted Golden Knights team. With Vegas boasting a record of 7-4-4, fans have had less to cheer for than expected.
Of course, it hasn't always been this way. Fans will remember the 2019 first-round matchup when Vegas lost to San Jose in seven games. In Game 7, he had a goal and an assist, both of which came on the infamous five-minute major penalty on Cody Eakin.
But now? Hertl's a good guy. He's on the side of justice and heroism, taking on all enemies and new threats. Getting into the Golden Knights' history books was just the beginning for the Prague native.
Now? He's ready to conquer the next kingdom with more goals with a "Fun Must Be Always" twist.