Tomas Hertl’s Decision to Leave the Sharks Is Paying Off for the Vegas Golden Knights

Tomas Hertl’s decision to leave the San Jose Sharks in 2024 was driven by a simple goal: to give himself one last real chance to win the Stanley Cup. After 11 seasons with the only NHL team he had ever played for, Hertl waived his no-move clause and accepted a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 8, 2024. The move was emotional and risky, but it reflected the reality that San Jose had missed the playoffs for five straight seasons and Hertl’s championship window was closing.

At the time, Hertl had become one of the defining players of the Sharks era. He had 484 points in 712 games with San Jose, ranked sixth in franchise scoring, and had signed an eight-year, $65.1 million extension in 2022. He also had deep personal ties to the Bay Area, including a family and a reputation as one of the most beloved players in team history. Still, the urge to chase a title outweighed loyalty to the franchise that drafted him 17th overall in 2012.

The first two seasons of the gamble did not immediately pay off. Hertl arrived in Vegas while recovering from knee surgery and played only seven regular-season games before the Golden Knights were knocked out in the first round in 2024. The following year, Vegas won the Pacific Division but was eliminated in the second round by Edmonton. For Hertl, who reached the Stanley Cup Final with San Jose in 2016 but lost to Pittsburgh, the repeated early exits were painful. Yet they also reinforced how difficult it is to get back to the Final, and how valuable another chance can be.

This season, Hertl has looked fully settled with the Golden Knights. In 82 regular-season games, he produced 58 points, including 24 goals and 34 assists, while working as Vegas’ third-line center. Across his two full seasons in Vegas, he has totaled 119 points in 155 games. After enduring a 29-game goal drought that extended from the end of the regular season into the playoffs, he has recently rediscovered his scoring touch, netting three goals in his last six games.

His go-ahead goal in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche helped Vegas move toward a sweep and put Hertl back on the brink of the championship he left San Jose to pursue. He now has nine points in 16 playoff games, with all three of his goals coming in the final seven contests.

The transition to Vegas appears to have been made easier by strong relationships within the organization, including assistant coach Joel Ward, a former Sharks forward, and captain Mark Stone, one of Hertl’s closest friends. What once looked like a difficult breakup with San Jose now appears to be paying off for both sides. The Sharks received a first-round pick and prospect David Edstrom in the trade, and the return remains respectable. But with Vegas now four wins from the Cup Final, Hertl’s gamble looks closer than ever to delivering the reward he sought.