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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed trade deadline acquisition Noah Hanifin<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to an eight-year contract extension<\/a>. The deal reportedly carries a $7.35M cap hit, a six-year full-no-trade clause, and full signing bonuses, per NHL insider Pierre LeBrun<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hanifin again earns front-page news after his trade market dominated much of this year\u2019s trade deadline prep. Vegas was a surprise landing spot for the top defender, acquiring him in a three-team trade that saw them send Daniil Miromanov<\/a>, a 2025 first-round and third-round pick to the Calgary Flames<\/span> and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers. Hanifin has since played 16 games with the Golden Knights, recording two goals and nine points. He\u2019s recorded the second-most points among Vegas defensemen since joining, behind Shea Theodore<\/a>\u2019s 11 points. The scoring brings Hanifin up to 13 goals and 44 points in 77 games, flirting with his career-high 48 points posted in the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n Philadelphia\u2019s brokerage of the deal reduced Hanifin\u2019s cap hit to just $1.2375M \u2014 just enough for Vegas to acquire\u00a0<\/span>Tomas Hertl<\/a>\u2019s $6.75M cap hit. The Golden Knights now have just $1.464M in off-season cap space, per CapFriendly<\/a>, assuming an $87.5M salary cap. They\u2019ll have to negotiate with seven free agents, including\u00a0<\/span>Jonathan Marchessault<\/a> and Alec Martinez<\/a>, who are now the only expiring defensemen.<\/p>\n While they\u2019re almost destined to face cap troubles down the line, the Vegas Golden Knights now have Hanifin, Theodore,\u00a0<\/span>Alex Pietrangelo<\/a>, Mark Stone<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Jack Eichel<\/a>, and Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hertl<\/a> signed through the 2025-26 season. That\u2019s not to mention the impactful supporting cast, like William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev and\u00a0<\/span>Zach Whitecloud<\/a>, who are all signed through the next two seasons. Vegas couldn\u2019t top 100 points this season, though they should be one of the final teams to secure a playoff spot. But they\u2019ll have plenty of time for a more prolific season, with their core pieces \u2014 including three top defensemen \u2014 now locked up for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n