Hertl is a very versatile center who meshes well with any wingers on his line
Hertl can play center or wing and that is a valuable commodity.
When the Vegas Golden Knights acquired Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks in March, they knew they were getting an 11-year NHL veteran. He was an accomplished scorer with 220 career goals and 268 assists. He can be a physical player, too, with 768 hits to his credit.
Considering the Golden Knights only had to give up a first-round selection, and a third-rounder in 2025, and another third-round pick in 2027, it seemed like a great deal. And when one examines the player's abilities, it shows what an exceptional trade it was.
Of course, a player of his status didn't come cheaply. The Sharks did retain 17.0507% of his hefty $8.1375 million deal, good through the 2029-30 season.
Over the last couple years when I was playing in San Jose, I got put with a lot of different guys, and a lot of young guys. I just want to be there for those guys and help them out. That’s a big part of the job for me as this is my 12th year in the league so I should be able to play with anybody that’s with me. -Tomas Hertl
As the preseason progresses, Hertl has had various linemates, including Nicolas Roy and Alexander Holtz. Other candidates could include Victor Olofsson, Pavel Dorofeyev, and maybe even Mark Stone, Ivan Barbashev, or Brett Howden.
Right now it doesn’t matter who we put on the line with him, eventually, it will, but for now we know we’re going to get a good performance out of him and we can just try to find what his best fit is as we go along. For Tomas, worry about your own game, get it where it needs to be. He knows his game better than anybody, he’s been in the league long enough, and I thought his game was very good tonight. -Cassidy
Hertl seems to bend like a pretzel to comply with his team's needs. A player like that is hard to find and retain. So, Hertl has found a new home, and now he can get down to helping the Golden Knights look for their second Stanley Cup.
If Hertl can have as good a season as 2018-19, Vegas will excel
Back in the 2018-19 season, Hertl had a terrific year. He scored 35 goals and 39 assists, with 11 power-play goals added for good measure. He also was quite a sniper, tallying on 19.9 percent of his shots. That kind of production attracted the Prague, Czech Republic native to the attention of the Golden Knights' GM Kelly McCrimmon.
“He’ll have a really important role on our team and he’ll have a lot of responsibility,” McCrimmon said. “We would hope he plays as good for us as he did against us because he was a player that we had a lot of regard for. And really high character, size, strength.
“We felt at the time of the trade that he was a little bit different than what we had in terms of just his ability around the net, below the goal line. He’s really strong in those areas. So it complemented what we already had in place, and I think he’ll be a really good player for us.”
As noted by our site expert, Jacob Walters, recently, there are three things to be excited about regarding the Golden Knights acquiring Hertl: 1) his power play skills 2) his two-way play 3) his versatility.
Hertl will undoubtedly add another element to the team's already threatening lineup if he can stay healthy. After being eliminated by the Dallas Stars last season in the first round of the playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights are hungry to get back to the postseason to show everyone what they can do.
feed