The massive offer the Boston Bruins had on the table for Rasmus Andersson revealed

That fits what we have heard for months, the player was picky about where he would commit. When a right shot defender is that firm, the market shrinks fast and the bidding turns weird.

Then Sunday hit and the chase ended, Andersson was dealt from the Calgary Flames to the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas paid with Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, and conditional picks, with Calgary holding 50 percent of the salary.

Here is why Boston swung big, Andersson is 29, a 2015 second round pick, 53rd overall, drafted by Calgary. He had 30 points with 10 goals and 20 assists in 48 games, and he was playing 24:14 a night.

On the Flames stat page a day earlier, he sat at 29 points in 47 games with 24:12 per game, so the workload was not a typo. That is top pair usage, plus man advantage minutes, plus a heavy defensive diet.

If you are a Bruins fan, that stings because it feels like the door slammed mid stride.

Boston's logic was clear, pay for certainty or do not pay at all. A seven year deal around a $9 million cap hit would have put Andersson right next to the biggest tickets in town, and that is a scary bet for a team still finding its next core.

On the ice, he would have helped right away, clean exits, quick bump passes, and a shot that gets through traffic. On the cap sheet, it would have changed every future decision, from the third pair to the top six.

Vegas gets the exact profile it always hunts, a hard minute defender who can play fast and still run offense. Not too unlike fellow former flame Noah Hanifin. Andersson is in the final season of his deal and can be a UFA after the season, so the Knights are still taking a real risk.

Now the Bruins pivot back to the blue line market, and every phone call gets more expensive from here to the deadline.

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