The Vegas Golden Knights have made a trade with the New Jersey Devils, acquiring Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz.
This move comes after Vegas traded Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals for two picks. Thompson had stepped up as the main goalie last season, securing 25 wins and a .908 save percentage in 46 starts. Now, he’s off to Washington looking for new opportunities. In his place, Vegas brings in Schmid, who has mostly been a backup for the Devils. Although he only managed five wins and an .895 save percentage this year, he was much better as a rookie with nine wins and a .922 save percentage in 18 games. Schmid’s career stats show potential but need more consistency.
Holtz is another exciting addition for Vegas. He was picked seventh overall in the 2020 NHL Draft but struggled to get regular playtime under Lindy Ruff’s coaching. Despite this, Holtz scored 16 goals and got 28 points while playing all 82 games this season . Fans might think that Holtz could finally shine with more consistent ice time in Vegas’ top-six lineup.
New Faces in New Places
Holtz will have competition from Pavel Dorofeyev for a top spot on the team. If he can secure it, his performance might skyrocket. On the other side of the trade, New Jersey gets Paul Cotter along with a third-round pick for 2025. Cotter played as Vegas’ fourth-line center this past year, scoring 25 points and racking up 41 penalty minutes over 76 games.
Cotter had an okay second full season with some solid numbers: 13 goals and 18 points in just over half of last year’s games (55). He might not be spectacular but should bring stability to New Jersey’s bottom lines.
Some fans may wonder if these changes will really shake things up or just be another shuffle of players without much impact.
What do you think about these trades? Are they good moves or just meh?
