Hertl eager to help Golden Knights make another run at Stanley Cup

VANCOUVER -- Tomas Hertl was admittedly surprised to be traded after 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, but finding out it was to the Vegas Golden Knights, a once-heated rival, actually made it easier.

The 30-year-old forward had to agree to be moved ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 because of a no-movement clause in the contract he signed with San Jose on March 16, 2022, which has six seasons remaining. Hertl didn’t hesitate because he likes the Golden Knights’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup again this season and beyond.

“The team is really good and they won last year and I [thought], ‘Why not do it again this year and years after?’” Hertl said. “This team is just built to win a lot of hockey games and built for the playoffs in my eyes, and that's why I didn't really hesitate to come here.”

Hertl will play his second game with Vegas on Wednesday, when it has a chance to clinch a playoff berth against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (8:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNW, TNT, MAX, SCRIPPS). He had an assist in his Golden Knights debut, a 4-3 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. It was his first game since Jan. 27; Hertl had surgery Feb. 12 to clean out loose cartilage in his left knee.

Vegas (42-27-8) holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and trails the Los Angeles Kings by one point for third place in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has played one more game.

“I actually like it; it's right away like you play a playoff game,” Hertl said. “We are already in playoff mode, so we know we have to be harder. I wasn't for last three years in playoffs, but these guys won it last year so they know what it takes.”

Hertl finished with one shot on goal, four hits and won six of nine face-offs -- including four of five in the last two minutes -- in 20:20 of ice time Monday. He looked comfortable as a net-front presence and helped the Golden Knights go 2-for-4 on the power play, matching their goal total on 16 chances over the previous six games.

“I've been in his position before coming off an injury and trying to get acclimated to a new team, so I thought he was great,” Vegas center Jack Eichel said. “Obviously he won a bunch of face-offs for us at the end of the game, and he was good around the net. I thought he was awesome.

“It was good to see that he was comfortable out there. He made a lot of really good plays and I think he'll only just continue to get more comfortable and better, so I think that was a positive for us.”

Hertl also provided the screen on defenseman Noah Hanifin’s power play goal that gave the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead at 9:33 of the second period.

“It's kind of my spot, win the face-off, go to screen, use my big body,” Hertl said.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy believes Hertl’s ability to hold onto pucks will increase his team’s time in the offensive zone. For all the focus on the skill that made Hertl the Sharks’ second-leading scorer at the time of the trade with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 48 games, his new teammates are more impressed with his strength.

"His linemates are going to have to learn to get open around the net, in the hashmark, slot area, at the top of the blue paint, because he's able to shake people off and bring more people to him, which will open up others," Cassidy said Tuesday.

Hertl has 485 points (218 goals, 267 assists) in 713 regular-season games since entering the NHL in 2013-14.

“One of the strongest guys I've ever played against on the puck,” Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson said. “His skill, his hands, how he sees the game, how he plays the game … I'm excited to obviously have him on the team, but to play with him as well.”

Hertl started on left wing with Stephenson and Michael Amadio on the second line, but Cassidy doesn’t think it will be long before he’s back at his natural center position, which requires more of an adjustment within the system. So, too, will his role on the penalty kill, which surrendered two goals Monday with Hertl on the ice, but Cassidy is confident he will adjust, pointing to the time it took fellow trade acquisitions, Hanifin and forward Anthony Mantha, to settle in.

"He was good (Monday), he got hit a couple of times, so I think the rust of not playing and bodies around him probably surprised him a little bit," Cassidy said. "He was strong on the puck, great on the face-off, he got to the front of the net, a lot of as advertised."

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report