June 29, 2024, might not be a day many people think about too much. In Las Vegas, it's just another triple-digit day where everyone's faces melt off. However, it's one that resonates with Vegas Golden Knights fans. The team traded Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz.
On paper, the trade was meant to get Vegas younger at the wing position, giving them a player who could potentially break out for 20-30 goals in a season. They also got a potential future starting goaltender in Schmid, whose 6'5" frame could deter any incoming shot with just his body. As they always say (and that's what she said), bigger is better, baby.
Meanwhile, the Devils got a lower-line player who used his physicality and defensive ability to kickstart the transition game. The only problem was there wasn't any room for the native of Canton, Michigan in Vegas's future plans. So off he went to the Jersey shore, where he's deejaying and fist-bumping with the locals. Play my jam, Cotter!
The beautiful game pic.twitter.com/1hFUrYfZH2
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) November 13, 2024
Overall, the trade looked like a win at first glance. The Golden Knights got their future goaltender (among the stack of future goaltenders) and added a 22-year-old winger who was also waiver-exempt. Plus, Cotter tended to go through cold stretches scoring-wise, so there was plenty of reason to be excited.
At least, that was the initial thought with Alexander Holtz
If I had told you that Alexander Holtz only had three goals and eight assists heading into February before the season started, you would've probably laughed me out of the building. How could a former first-round pick with so much potential become salary cap fodder for Kelly McCrimmon like Robin Lehner?
Well, dear reader, allow me to enlighten you. The New Jersey Devils haven't had much success properly developing Holtz into a bona fide winger. The Swedish forward struggled in numerous areas of his game, such as backchecking and generating high-danger chances with the Vegas Golden Knights. Lo and behold, he's used as a means to build up cap space for another deal (even being a part of why the Golden Knights acquired Brandon Saad in the first place). After all, fans were panicking every time he had the puck.
As for Paul Cotter? Well, there was a short period where the winger was atop the NHL in goals scored. The 25-year-old scored five goals in his first seven games of the season, a major reason why he has 12 goals and six assists in 2024-25. So far, he's added much-needed scoring and checking for New Jersey's lower lines with 183 hits to boot.
This looks like a rare miss for Kelly McCrimmon so far
As it stands, the trade has slowly descended into a major loss for Kelly McCrimmon and the Vegas Golden Knights. They lost a physical player who could crunch players alongside Keegan Kolesar and swapped him for salary cap space management. Ouch to the hundredth degree.
The good news is Akira Schmid is still developing in Henderson, while Holtz will likely be used beyond salary cap-related purposes. The 22-year-old winger still has plenty of time to develop in his own right. That's especially true with Holtz being waiver-exempt for this season, giving him more time to grow into a viable NHL winger.
However, fans might not want to remember June 29, 2024, for Holtz alone. It's become a date where they were beaten in a trade, getting worse in the winger department. While Cotter fits in nicely on the lower lines with the Devils, Holtz is bouncing up and down between the main roster and the AHL. Perhaps the Swedish forward should take up being a DJ alongside Cotter as a side gig.