Vegas Golden Knights acquire Alexander Holtz, Akira Schmid from the New Jersey Devils for Paul Cotter, ’25 third-round pick

Shane Seney
Shane Seney
Vegas Golden Knights acquire Alexander Holtz, Akira Schmid from the New Jersey Devils for Paul Cotter, ’25 third-round pick
Credit: (Photo by Steven Ellis)

The Vegas Golden Knights continue to be busy on the trade front in day two of draft weekend. After sending Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals, the Golden Knights announced a trade with the New Jersey Devils which sees goaltender Akira Schmid and forward Alexander Holtz head to Vegas in exchange for forward Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick.

Schmid, 24, was a former fifth-round pick of the Devils. Last season he appeared in NHL 19 games, recording a 5-9-1 record along with a 3.15 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. The native of Bern, Switzerland has appeared in 43 career NHL games over the past three seasons in New Jersey and heads to Vegas with a career 14-18-3 record. With Thompson moved, Schmid will get a chance to win the backup role behind Golden Knights starter Adin Hill. The Devils recently acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames to sure up their goaltending depth, making Schmid available for Vegas to swoop in.

Along with Schmid, the Devils also sent Holtz to the Golden Knights, a former seventh-overall pick from the 2020 draft. Holtz, 22, played in all 82 games last season, posting 16 goals and 28 points. Holtz spent some time on New Jersey’s second power-play unit and should get a chance to win a top-nine role in Vegas next season. The native of Stockholm Sweden is entering the final season of his entry-level contract, and is set to earn $894,167 next season. Holtz will become a restricted free agent after the 2024-25 season.

As for the Devils, general manager Tom Fitzgerald gets his wish to be less ‘vanilla’. Cotter is a grinding forward who loves to throw his weight around. The 24-year-old winger laid 233 hits last season and chipped in with 25 points in 76 games. Cotter has two seasons left on his current contract, holding a $775,000 average annual value through the 2025-26 season.

Keep an eye on these two teams heading into free agency on Monday as it’s likely both clubs are far from finished at this point.

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