Entering their second-last game of the regular season, the Golden Knights will rest several key players on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames, including Noah Hanifin. The 28-year-old Hanifin is averaging 21:33 time-on-ice and has 39 points (10G / 29A) in 80 games this season.
Hanifin will sit out the Golden Knights' regular season finale on Thursday as he'll get the night off to rest ahead of the team's playoff run. Ben Hutton will draw into the lineup in his place.
Vegas locked up another key piece to its core long-term as it signed 27-year-old defenseman Noah Hanifian to an eight-year, $58.8 million ($7,350,000 AAV) contract extension. Hanifin has excelled since joining the Golden Knights at the trade deadline, with two goals, nine points, 37 SOG and a +7 plus/minus through 16 games played.
The Golden Knights gave up a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a conditional third-round pick, a 2024 fifth-round pick and Daniil Miromanov to acquire Hanifin on Wednesday. The Flames retained 50 percent of Hanifin's contract and the Flyers retained 25 percent as a third-party broker. At 25 percent, Hanifin will carry a $1.2375M AAV cap-hit. The 27-year-old defenseman heads to Vegas with 11 goals and 24 assists (35 points) in 61 games this season.
The Golden Knights gave up a conditional 2025 first-round pick, a conditional third-round pick, a 2024 fifth-round pick and Daniil Miromanov to acquire Hanifin. The Flames retained 50 percent of Hanifin's contract and the Flyers retained 25 percent as a third-party broker. At 25 percent, Hanifin will carry a $1.2375M AAV cap-hit. The 27-year-old defenseman heads to Vegas with 11 goals and 24 assists (35 points) in 61 games this season.
Hanifin is going through protocol but head coach Geoff Ward doesn't think it will be a long-term absence. Travis Hamonic skated in Hanfin's spot on Tuesday and it looks like he could replace him on Thursday.
Hanifin is coming off of the best season of his young career, picking up 10 goals and 22 assists (32 points) in 79 games. Playing on the best possession team in hockey, Hanifin had an impressive +2.8 relative Corsi. The 21-year-old is an RFA who the Flames will have to sign this summer. Matt Cane of HockeyGraphs predicts a two-year bridge deal worth $4.672M ($2.336M AAV).
Hanifin missed Sunday’s game in Brooklyn with a concussion that he suffered against the Flyers on Saturday. With just 10 games left in the regular season, there’s a chance that Hanifin’s season could be over. Concussions are tricky and there’s no sense risking him getting hurt with the Hurricanes’ season basically over.
Hanifin has been averaging just 0:51 PP TOI through the first 14 games of his NHL career, but with Murphy out indefinitely, Hanifin will start to eat up some of the 2:28 PP TOI that Murphy was seeing. Hanifin has just two assists in 14 games, but more power-play time should jump-start his production.
Hanifin was a healthy scratch on Tuesday in Detroit, but he will be back in the lineup on Thursday vs. the Islanders. He is expected to replace Michal Jordan. Hanifin has two assists, 10 shots and a minus-3 rating in eight games with the Hurricanes.
Hanifin has recorded two assists, 10 shots on goal and a minus-3 rating in eight games to begin his NHL career. Hanifin will get the night off, but is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday in New York.
Hanifin was the fifth overall pick in this summer’s draft and had an impressive enough training camp to make the Hurricanes opening night roster. Carolina could elect to give him an extended nine game look to start the season, before making the decision to burn the first year of his entry level deal.
