Saturday saw a blockbuster trade go down in the NBA between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers acquired Luka Doncic (yes, that Luka Doncic), Markieff Morris, and Maxi Kleber in exchange for Anthony Davis (a.k.a. NBA Max Pacioretty), Max Christie, and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz got some stuff as well, like a couple of draft picks and Jalen Hood-Schifino. But nobody cares about those things. Anything to get more ratings, eh?
But it speaks to a greater point. Nobody saw it coming, especially on a Saturday night. Some guys were going to bars, hoping to (and failing to) get some late-night action. Some people were resting indoors from the snow, watching Netflix. Sometimes, the biggest curveballs in life come when you least expect it.
If you're a Dallas sports fan, the news hit you hard in the gut. The Dallas Cowboys aren't winning the Super Bowl anytime soon thanks to a senile old man living in the 1990s. The Texas Rangers have become anonymous a year after winning the World Series. And the Stars? Well, they might make the Stanley Cup Final... if Pete DeBoer can get past the Western Conference Final. But the Dallas Mavericks trading away Doncic?
Anyway, the Lakers are taking a page from the Vegas Golden Knights playbook and making a trade deadline splash. Last season, Kelly McCrimmon worked his magic an got Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl in unexpected deals. It was the kick the team needed to get their long-term pieces on board... or so it seems.
Tomas Hertl has been the piece the Vegas Golden Knights needed
The Golden Knights have been historically atrocious on the power play. I'm talking about your best season being in 2019-20 (22%) atrocious. The unit has been plagued by terrible turnovers, offensive zone miscues, and bad shots taken. The team needed something to snap them out of their man advantage funk. Perhaps a speech will do...
...Well, something like that. But it turns out a speech wasn't needed to wake up the Golden Knights. Tomas Hertl was the missing piece needed to revitalize the power play. Lo and behold, they have the third-best power play in the NHL at 28.1%. Yes, read that again. Third. Best. Take as much time as you need to digest that information.
As for Hertl? He's been a major component of that attack. The Czech native has scored nine goals and eight assists on the man advantage, giving the team another big body to work with. Combine him with Mark Stone (three goals and 16 assists on the power play), and you have two big players you must account for. The result? A team tied for first in the Pacific Division (second by technicality of games played, mind you).