CALGARY -- Noah Hanifin will play against his former team for the first time since being traded when the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, SCRIPPS).
The defenseman was traded to the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights by the Flames in a three-way deal that included the Philadelphia Flyers on March 6 after spending six seasons in Calgary.
"It's a unique feeling, for sure," Hanifin said. "Being here and playing here last week with the team I was a part with for six years, it's a unique situation. But I'm excited to just come in here and play at the Saddledome. I've always had a lot of fun playing here in my past. Looking forward to tonight."
Hanifin, who is in the final season of a six-year, $29.7 million contract ($4.95 million average annual value) he signed with the Flames on Aug. 30, 2018, had 191 points (42 goals, 149 assists) in 420 regular-season games with Calgary from 2018-24.
The 27-year-old is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
"I was very lucky to be able to play here and live in the community here," said Hanifin, who has 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 64 games this season, including two assists in three games with Vegas. "I played on some amazing teams and met a lot of great people here. I really enjoyed my time. I kind of grew up here. I came when I was 21 years old, and I was here for a long time. Just feel very fortunate to be part for this organization and this community."
Hanifin opted not to sign a contract extension with Calgary prior to the trade.
"I'm trying to move on now and focus on Vegas and winning here, but of course any time you're with an organization for that long, it's a difficult decision because of the people you're around and you care about them," Hanifin said. "It wasn't easy, but just being here in Vegas now, I'm really excited about the future and playing with them now."
Hanifin is one of four pending unrestricted free agents the Flames have traded this season, including defenseman Nikita Zadorov and forward Elias Lindholm in separate deals to the Vancouver Canucks, and defenseman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars. Calgary also traded forward Tyler Toffoli, another pending unrestricted free agent, to the New Jersey Devils last offseason.
"It'll be different," Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. "I've played with 'Hanny' for almost my whole NHL career. It'll be fun to see him again. It'll be different playing against him, that's for sure. He's a really good player. Vegas got a good person and a good player.
"We played with each other for so long, you become really good friends. It's always sad to see the person leave at first. He's a really good player as well. It'll be different playing against him but exciting at the same time. It'll be fun."
The Golden Knights (35-23-7) hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Flames (31-29-5) trail them by 10 points.
"I think obviously they've got a winning culture here from winning the Stanley Cup last year, and you've got 20 guys in that room that won last year," Hanifin said. "They kept pretty much the same team together. There's a standard there that I recognize right away when I came in. It's all about winning and getting all the way. For me coming in as an outsider, it's exciting and it's a good opportunity to come in and do what I can best to help them return to their goal."
