Rasmus Andersson didn’t need a reinvention. He needed the right partner.
For a while, the pairing with Parker Wotherspoon looked like a dead end - the kind of combo that couldn’t get anything going and was viewed as a liability. Then Wotherspoon went down with an upper-body injury, and Andersson suddenly found a new look next to Jeremy Lauzon.
The shift has changed everything. Andersson put up two goals and two assists last week as the Golden Knights won three straight, and he added four blocked shots this week.
More importantly, he’s playing with confidence again. He’s shooting from the point, pushing the puck in transition, and giving the attack another layer it didn’t have before.
That’s a big deal for a player who managed only six assists during last season’s Stanley Cup Final run, then signed a seven-year extension worth $8.5 million annually over the summer. Fans turned on him, and the noise only grew louder when his production didn’t match the contract. But the version showing up now looks a lot more like the player the Golden Knights thought they were getting.
The numbers back up the eye test, even if the sample is still small. Andersson and Lauzon have logged just 48.5 minutes together, according to MoneyPuck, but the pairing has clearly unlocked more from Andersson than Wotherspoon did.
The offensive bump is obvious. Less obvious, though just as important, is that the duo has also held up better defensively.
Lauzon’s style helps explain why. He’s a hitter who brings edge and physical responsibility, even if that sometimes comes with a penalty or two. That presence appears to free Andersson up to do more of the puck-moving and more of the attacking.
Wotherspoon, meanwhile, was due for regression. His 27 assists last season looked solid on the surface, but only 12 were primary, which hinted that the production might not carry over. So far, it hasn’t; he has no points.
That leaves the Golden Knights with a decision when Wotherspoon returns. Noah Hanifin and Lauzon have had modest success together, but the case for keeping Andersson with Lauzon is pretty straightforward: why break up a pair that’s working? Andersson finally looks comfortable, and this time the fit around him is doing exactly what it should.
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