Nobody would expect Tomas Hertl to be traded to any team. Sure, he had his struggles in the postseason by not scoring a single point in the second round. However, 32 goals and 61 points in 73 games is nothing to sneeze at.
Add in the fact that he set the single-season power play goals record (14), while revolutionizing the power play itself (second-best unit in the NHL at 28.3%), and you have a mainstay on the Vegas Golden Knights...
...At least on the surface. Hertl's name actually came up in a trade rumor involving the Carolina Hurricanes.
There's some smoke out there that Carolina could be bringing in Tomas Hertl.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 24, 2025
Carolina gets a top six forward, Vegas opens up cap space for a Marner pitch.
Working to confirm.
Luckily, there was only smoke and no fire to those rumors.
From asking around, it does not appear Carolina has any deals in place or closing in on anything at this time.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 24, 2025
Back to our regularly scheduled draft-week schedule.
Boy, that's as quick as an Edmonton Oilers fan watching their magical Stanley Cup run go up in smoke. Life is a highway, as they say.
Anyways, the goal here would've been bringing in Mitch Marner. The Prague native has a cap hit of $6.75 million with a modified no-trade clause. Mind you, this hit is sticking around until 2030, keeping him for the long haul.
What makes Tomas Hertl being a trade candidate surprising for the Golden Knights
First, let's examine his impact on the power play as a whole. The Vegas Golden Knights tried throwing Mark Stone into the slot on the man advantage. It had modest success, at best, with the Captain scoring 28 power play goals during his Vegas stay.
There was one problem with Stone, though. He's the type of guy who passes first. He's never one to take the initiative and shoot the puck. Kelly McCrimmon saw this and said, "Hmm, I need a guy who can get to the net with gusto and zest!"
That's where Hertl came into play. Standing at 6'3" and weighing 220 pounds, he could fill that spot and take on duties in the slot. Not only that, but he had the aggressive shoot-first philosophy the team desired.
Lo and behold, he's the perfect fit. Suddenly, fans embraced him like they forgot that he played for the San Jose Sharks at one point. Having another goal-scoring threat on your team? Now that's a plus.
Pre-NHL Draft rumors are always flying around at this time of year
It's that time of year again, folks. It's the time when crazy rumors fly around, leaving people to wonder what's real and fake. Believe me, I have seen it a few times myself. It's a jungle out there.
That's certainly no different from Tomas Hertl, who has established himself as a go-to scoring option for the Golden Knights. If you're looking to get Mitch Marner on board, perhaps other options could go to the Carolina Hurricanes instead of the "Fun Must Be Always Ambassador."
Maybe you can look at players like Nicolas Roy to get out of town? Maybe a player like Ivan Barbashev could do in this scenario? Who knows. One thing's for certain. Trading Hertl after you got him over a year ago would be one of the more head-scratching moves you could ever make.