The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights added an offensive element to their blue line by acquiring defenseman Rasmus Andersson in a trade Sunday with the Calgary Flames.
In parting ways with a player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Flames acquired veteran defenseman Zach Whitecloud, defensive prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft and a conditional second-rounder in 2028. The Flames also agreed to retain 50% of the remainder of Andersson’s salary in the final season of a six-year, $27.3 million contract.
“To be able to get it done with Vegas, they were willing to do it and do it without a contract because that was one thing that was made clear to us just in the last, maybe 12 hours, was there wasn’t going to be an extension signed with any of the teams,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “That definitely changed the way we had to negotiate and what we got back in return.”
It’s the latest aggressive move made by the Golden Knights after acquiring high-scoring forward Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto this offseason.
The 29-year-old Andersson, selected to represent Sweden at the Milan Cortina Games next month, was regarded as one of the highly prized candidates on the trade market. He’s spent all 10 NHL seasons with Calgary since being selected by the Flames in the second round of the 2015 draft.
Andersson has reached at least 30 points in each of his past four seasons, and already reached the plateau this year 10 goals and 20 assists. Overall, Andersson has 57 goals and 261 points in 584 NHL games.
The puck-moving player joins a Vegas defensive group missing Alex Pietrangelo, who stepped away from hockey due to health issues last summer, and with Brayden McNabb missing nine games with an upper-body injury.
Andersson is reunited with defenseman Noah Hanifin, who spent five-plus seasons in Calgary, before being traded to Vegas in March 2024.
Vegas has won seven straight, and coming off a 7-2 win over Nashville on Saturday night.
Whitecloud has two years left on a six-year, $16.5 million contract, and was one of the few remaining holdovers from the Golden Knights expansion season-roster in 2017-18. The 28-year-old was an undrafted free agent, has 23 goals and 78 points in 368 career games and won a Stanley Cup in 2023.
The Flames have won just three of eight, and sit 13th in the Western Conference standings, five points out of wild-card contention.
AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to the report.
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Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) tangles with Boston Bruins center Alex Steeves (21) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi (13) looks to make a pass as Vegas Golden Knights' Zach Whitecloud (2) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)
Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) handles the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — The search for dozens of people reported missing after a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city entered a fourth day Tuesday, with the death toll rising to 28 after five more bodies were recovered, officials said.
Rescuers reached some of the most badly damaged sections in the multistory Gul Plaza in Karachi that have either collapsed or been severely weakened since Saturday's blaze, as hope of finding survivors dimmed.
The reason for the fire, which raged for more than 24 hours before firefighters brought it under control, is still unclear, officials say.
The mall remained mostly inaccessible until Tuesday evening, nearly 72 hours after the blaze began.
A firefighter, Furqan Ali, was among the dead. His colleague Muhammad Aslam, 57, said he was among the first responders inside the building when a main section collapsed, killing Ali and injuring another firefighter.
Nearly a third of the mall has collapsed, according to Dr. Abid Jalal Sheikh, a senior rescue official. “We still cannot enter the upper sections because of the weakened structure and dense smoke in narrow alleys and small shops,” he told The Associated Press.
Mobile phone data showed at least 31 of the people reported missing were inside the plaza on the night of the fire, senior police official Asad Raza said. Authorities believe others reported missing may not have been carrying cellphones, Raza said.
Mehmood Khan told the AP that six members of his family remain missing, “my two 15-year-old nephews, a cousin, and three other relatives.”
He said they were last heard of about an hour after the fire broke out, when they received a voice message saying smoke had filled the building.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that some sections of the building had already been searched and heavy machinery was being used to clear rubble from a portion that collapsed Sunday.
Wahab met with families of the missing, many visibly shaken, and assured them that authorities were making every effort to locate those still unaccounted for.
“We will continue this rescue operation until all missing persons are found,” he told reporters.
Authorities said many of the recovered bodies were burned beyond recognition. In several cases, only body parts were found and DNA testing is underway to identify the victims, according to police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed.
On Monday, Sindh provincial Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the government would provide 10 million rupees ($36,000) in compensation to the family of each person killed.
Rescuers were working around the clock and there was hope some trapped victims might still be found alive, he said.
The sprawling shopping plaza houses about 1,200 shops, most selling imported clothing, cosmetics and plastic household goods. Dozens of the missing were shop owners and customers.
Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, has a long history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards, lax enforcement and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22 others. One of the deadliest industrial disasters in Pakistan’s history occurred in 2012, when a fire at a Karachi garment factory killed at least 260 people.
A family member of a missing person waits near the site of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to clear the rubble of a burnt building of a multi-story shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Rescue workers and firefighters use heavy machinery to clear the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Rescue workers and firefighters work with heavy machinery to clear the rubble of a burnt building of a multi-story shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
A family member of a missing person waits as rescue workers and firefighters search through the rubble of a burnt building of a multistory shopping plaza following a massive fire in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
