For as talented a player as Rasmus Andersson is, he’s still human.
People will point to the Vegas Golden Knights going 5-10-2 since acquiring the defenseman from the Calgary Flames and say the trade was a bust.
It hasn’t been a seamless on-ice transition with Andersson at six points and a minus-6 in 15 games.
Meanwhile, his new team is clinging to playoff positioning and will face the red-hot Dallas Stars on Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
Andersson isn’t oblivious to the fact that he could be better, but there are mental gymnastics of going through a new change almost entirely on his own.
Andersson has had to adjust to a new country, a new team, a new city and a new environment without his wife, Tessa, and their two children — 4-year-old Benjamin and 1-year-old Lucy.
“I think, just mentally, that was the hardest part,” Andersson said Sunday.
Tessa and the kids stayed in Calgary — with occasional trips to Las Vegas — to put the finishing touches on a life-altering move for everyone involved.
All the while, Andersson stayed at Red Rock Resort across the street from City National Arena.
The family arrived in Las Vegas days after the Knights completed their five-game road trip that followed the Winter Olympic break. They’re now moved into their house in Summerlin.
“It’s been a lot for my wife,” Andersson said. “Settling down in Calgary, getting organized with the move and being alone with two young kids.”
Quite the adjustment
Andersson was traded Jan. 18 after 10 years with the Flames. Immigration status ruled him out the following day, a home game against Philadelphia.
After that came a four-game road trip that started in Boston, then through eastern Canada.
Like most international-born players, Andersson had to apply for a P-1 visa. Those last for five years and can be renewed for an additional five, if necessary.
He had one when playing for the Stockton Heat, the former American Hockey League affiliate of the Flames, for two seasons. He didn’t need to renew since he would soon be living in Calgary full time.
Even though Andersson previously lived in the United States, he had to go through the process all over again.
“First thing they told me, they said — worst-case scenario — it might take up to three weeks (to process),” Andersson said.
Andersson was told he could play in Canada. He packed for five days because he thought he would have to fly back to Calgary to continue working on his visa after the trip concluded in Montreal on Jan. 27.
Everything worked out. Andersson joined the team in Boston on Jan. 22 before making his Knights debut in Toronto the next night,
He stayed in Ottawa following the Knights’ 7-1 loss to the Senators on Jan. 25 to put the finishing touches on his visa, then took the train to Montreal to play the last leg of the trip.
Hockey has kept him busy. But there’s all the traveling he’s had to do.
No time to get acclimated
After that Canadian trip, he returned to Las Vegas for two home games, made a quick trip to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Feb. 1, then two more home games before the Olympic break.
Then Andersson got on a flight to New York to fly to Milan and represented Sweden in the Olympics. The family joined him in Italy.
They flew back to New York after Sweden was eliminated, then to Calgary to drop Tessa and the kids off so she could finish the move.
Andersson flew back to Las Vegas to his Red Rock lodgings to return to Knights practice. Then, he got on a plane for the Knights’ five-game road trip after the Olympic break.
“It feels better and better each day,” Andersson said. “It just feels like I can start settling in. It was a lot those first six weeks. Now it feels like I’m getting more in the rhythm.”
Andersson said he thought his game was coming together at the end of the trip. He had two assists in an overtime win in Detroit and thought his game was in a good place Friday against the Minnesota Wild.
Sunday, however, was a rough one. Andersson was on the ice for the Edmonton Oilers’ three even-strength goals in a 4-2 loss, the Knights’ fifth in six games.
‘Work-in-progress’
Coach Bruce Cassidy is still trying to find the right blue line partner for Andersson. He has familiarity with Noah Hanifin, with the two playing together for five years in Calgary. The past few games, he’s skated with Jeremy Lauzon.
“There’s still a work in progress with chemistry,” Cassidy said. “We know he had it with (Hanifin), but does that make us the most balanced six?”
That’s what Cassidy is trying to figure out, but it’s not lost on him that Andersson has been dealing with the mental hurdles.
He thinks Andersson still has plenty to offer. He thinks there’s more to his offensive game, like his booming slap shot and playmaking ability.
“He has family, too. That’s a challenge,” Cassidy said. “There’s a little bit you have to just accept. All those things that come first — the person before the player — people forget that sometimes.
“I’m not saying that’s impacting his game or not, but I don’t know how it wouldn’t if his family isn’t with him. The player’s got to go through that. They eventually find their way and he’s starting to do that. I see a more comfortable player.”
Cassidy said it’s another adjustment for Andersson because he’s not being asked to do everything like he was in Calgary. He averaged 24 minutes a night with the Flames. That’s down to 21:28 with the Knights.
It’s going to take more than one player for the Knights to fight their way out of this slump. A more relaxed Andersson might help.
“I felt pretty good before the Olympics those few games, and then mentally a little tough after the Olympics,” Andersson said. “You leave the kids, see them for 48 hours and then leave them again and you know it’s going to be another two weeks. But at the same time, it’s so nice to see them. I feel like now I can just settle in, relax and breathe a little more.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Stars
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Stars -145; total 6
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