INTERVIEW: Tomáš Hertl Responds To Trade Rumors

Tomáš
Hertl,
who was
acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights
from the San Jose Sharks late in
the 2023-24 season, has
recently been the subject of trade rumors again,
which THN
Vegas
writer Julian Gaudio recently explained in detail.

Hertl
is currently back home in his
native Czechia
with
his family,
training for the upcoming
season. Recently, he was interviewed by Hokej.cz
journalist Ondřej Mach, whose
piece was published on Friday morning in Europe.
In it,
Hertl spoke about the speculation about him heading to the Carolina
Hurricanes, his recovery from a shoulder injury suffered in
March, and his off-season with the family in Prague.

What is your view on what has been
circulating in the North American
media recently?

“Honestly, I didn’t even know –
it was the people around me who told me. I knew the situation –
they can’t trade me at all until July 1, and then I have three
teams that I can choose from. Then general manager Kelly McCrimmon
called me and said he was sorry that this had even come up, and that
nothing was being discussed. I was calm; I have the situation in hand. When a journalist writes something, everyone’s reaction is
quick. I know that (the Golden Knights) are counting on me for next
year, but you can never know anything 100 percent. That’s just how
it works.”

Do you appreciate the Golden Knights GM reaching out to
you?

“Yeah, that was nice.
Everyone was writing to me that I was going to Carolina and I didn’t
know why, based on our conversations after the
season had ended. Vegas is one of those aggressive teams, so
nobody has anything 100 percent
certain, whether it’s Jack Eichel or whoever. They want to
win, they have a quality team, and
they make big moves. We’ll see what happens in the free
agent market in a week.”

Are you happy with how your first full season in Sin City went?

“I would have
been happier if we’d lasted longer in the playoffs. But after the
start, when I was getting used to playing with new guys and a new
team, things started to click around December. I found my line and
the team was playing great. Plus, we had one of the best power plays
in the league. Everything was going great until I got injured 10
games before the playoffs. That was an unfortunate moment – I was
worried that I wouldn’t even get back in time for the playoffs. The
first round was good, then the second against Edmonton… I didn’t
score a goal, even though I had some decent games … but (scoring)
was expected of me, so that was a disappointment.”

REPORT: 'Smoke' Surrounding Possible Golden Knights and Hurricanes Trade Involving Tomas HertlThe Vegas Golden Knights and the Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly working on a trade that would send Tomas Hertl to the Hurricanes.

During the playoffs,
were you taking any anesthetics?

“A
little bit. That comes with the territory,
and you don’t even think about it.
Of course, I would have preferred not to have gotten injured. I had
scored two hat tricks in two weeks (prior
to the injury), was
scoring goals, and
I could have reached a new
(career) high.
It would have been better if it hadn’t happened.”

When you mentioned the setup in the Vegas
organization, do you feel the pressure to succeed? In eight years in
the league, the Golden Knights have made it to the finals twice and won the Stanley Cup.

“The first year, they were lucky to (make the finals). But the organization is set up that way, it
works great. The general manager goes for it every year; he takes
advantage of the gaps in the salary cap. Like Tampa. They don’t
rely on drafting a player who will be good in two or three years.
That’s why I was really happy to go there. Careers are getting
shorter, and you want to be on a team where you can win something.”

Radim Zohorna Signs With Swedish ClubCzech
forward
Radim Zohorna, 29, has signed a two-year contract with Färjestad BK,
the
SHL club announced on Friday.

Are you 100 percent healthy
yet? The injury didn’t let
you go to the World Championship.

“Yeah, it’s fine.
It doesn’t limit me at all. Now I have the whole summer to
strengthen my shoulder, but that
shouldn’t be a problem. I should be 100 percent.
It’s just a matter of strengthening it, but according to the
doctors, and how I feel, I should be fine.

Is the preparation for the upcoming season in
full swing?

“I don’t take any big time off. I’m
happy to keep going. The kids keep me up to speed, but I’m already
in preparation – I’m training with Radim Zohorna and Martin
Nečas, like I have for the last three years. I’m in the gym for
now and I’m going to the ice soon. And I’m also doing some sports
around here.”

And are you planning to relax somewhere by the sea?

“We’re
not flying anywhere; we’re
more staying around home. When the 4
Nations were played in February, we went on
vacation. We have a lot going on now – we
have some weddings to
go to in the next four weeks. Maybe
we’ll take a long weekend, but for
now we’d rather have some family time at home in Prague.”

Martin Nečas: “I’m ready for anything” A restricted free agent, Martin Nečas has been the focus of trade rumors the entire off-season, and now he has elected for salary arbitration.

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