You don't want to see your best friend leave you, especially when they're involved in a big-time trade. Whenever you see your best friend leave for another destination, you think about everything you wanted to tell them. Mind you, this is also true with parents when they're on their deathbed.
Don't worry, Zach Whitecloud isn't dead. That's the good news. But the bad news for many Golden Knights fans is that the defenseman was part of the Rasmus Andersson deal. That hit Keegan Kolesar especially hard, who told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal of how he took the news.
Keegan Kolesar said he first heard the Rasmus Andersson news from Cody Glass. He didn't know much else about the trade.
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) January 21, 2026
Then, Zach Whitecloud called Keegan to tell him he was being traded.
"I was pretty much crying the whole day. When I drove over to his house, I was crying…
That also included a depressing Instagram story involving the two former teammates. WARNING: You better bring your box of tissues with you because this story will hit you HARD.
From Keegan Kolesar's Instagram story pic.twitter.com/AzQyEFwOWh
— Yegor Sharangovich replaced Breadman (@FierySharky) January 18, 2026
Like two bros hanging out, not realizing that their last day together would be on Sunday. Man, that's one of the saddest endings to a movie that I've ever seen.
But the newsbit combines with the Instagram story for more than a sad tale. It also tells the brutal side of the hockey business. Winning comes before everything else and it doesn't matter who you're friends with.
Keegan Kolesar being separated from his Vegas Golden Knights buddy Zach Whitecloud shows the icier side of winning in hockey
Look, I'm sad to see Kolesar and Whitecloud separate after winning a Stanley Cup together. The two had an inseparable bond that couldn't be touched even by McCrimmon's standards... or so everyone thought.
The NHL is a business and you're in it to win the best prize of all: the Stanley Cup. That's especially true with McCrimmon, who's dealt lovable players like Nicolas Roy and Alex Tuch. In turn, the Golden Knights got that Stanley Cup in 2023 and are honing in on another title.
Beside, when you have a chance at Rasmus Andersson, you better take it. Why not take a swing at one of the biggest names on the market this season? That has been the Kelly McCrimmon M.O. and that doesn't appear to change any time soon.
Still, it's heartbreaking to see Kolesar's best buddy traded to the Calgary Flames. Whitecloud was a one-of-a-kind person who cared about his community and his people. In a world of thieves, peddlers, and liars, we need more Zach Whiteclouds in the world.
That's why it's so easy to relate to Kolesar in this situation. He knew his former teammate on another level, appreciating his character and dignity as a person. When you have that kind of personality, you become likable to literally everyone you meet.
Sometimes, we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. That can range from our relationships to our families to even our friends. You can't help but feel sad for Kolesar, especially after his buddy goes to another team.