Meet Mattias Janmark, the Golden Knights’ newest addition

The Golden Knights, salary cap squeeze and all, still got creative enough to pull off their seemingly annual trade deadline move.

The team added left wing Mattias Janmark on Monday in a three-team deal with Chicago and San Jose. The Knights gave the Blackhawks a second- and third-round pick for Janmark and a fifth-round pick, and sent the Sharks a fifth-round pick for retaining salary to make the money work.

It wasn’t as splashy as some of the Knights’ previous deadline moves, such as acquiring right wing Mark Stone and goaltender Robin Lehner. But it still helped the team fill a need in its middle six before the playoffs.

Here are five things to know about Janmark:

1. He can move throughout the lineup

Janmark, 28, played everywhere for the Dallas Stars last season.

He was on the fourth line for the Winter Classic, but in the playoffs he played with each of the team’s top two centers at times. In Chicago, he played with star right wing Patrick Kane occasionally. He also spent plenty of time with depth center David Kampf.

His ability to play up and down the lineup and mesh with different players is one of the things that attracted the Knights to him.

“That’s a real strength of his game,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He can play with a lot of different players, and players like to play with him. He adds, he complements a line. That versatility is going to be important for us.”

Coach Pete DeBoer said his initial plan is to start Janmark on the third line with center Tomas Nosek and right wing Alex Tuch. But Janmark will be a movable chess piece if injuries occur or if the offense becomes stagnant.

2. He can help on both special teams units

The Knights hope Janmark will boost their power play and penalty kill.

His four power-play goals are tied for the second-most on his new team with center Cody Glass. His seven power-play points rank fourth. His speed and ability to score around the net should help a team ranked 24th with the man advantage.

Janmark also has been a regular penalty killer for the past four seasons. The Knights already have a deep stable of forwards that help out on the NHL’s second-ranked unit, including centers Nosek, William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson and right wings Stone, Tuch and Reilly Smith.

Janmark should give DeBoer another option if he wants to give someone a break or mix up the look he’s giving opponents.

“For me, it’s another really good NHL player that goes into our stable of players that is going to be able to move around depending on the situation,” DeBoer said. “Both special teams, which is critical come playoff time.”

3. His underlying numbers aren’t great

Janmark’s offensive production — 19 points in 41 games — would rank second among the Knights’ bottom-six forwards. Some advanced statistics don’t flatter him as much, however.

Chicago had a 41.7 shot attempts percentage and was outscored 28-15 when Janmark was on the ice at five-on-five. That’s not great, but it’s hard to project how that will translate to the Knights because of a change in environment and role. He never had a shot attempts percentage that low in Dallas.

The Knights have shown that their system and the strength of their lineup generally boosts those numbers. Washington had a 47.15 shots attempts percentage with Stephenson on the ice at five-on-five before trading him. That number has risen to 55.18 with the Knights.

4. He knows William Karlsson

Janmark already has a connection on the Knights.

He and Karlsson grew up near Stockholm and have played against each other a lot. The two also have a number of mutual friends. Janmark said on the Knights’ trade deadline show that he doesn’t know Lehner, who is from Gothenburg, Sweden, as well as Karlsson but has played against him a few times.

“I’m excited to have some Swedes there,” Janmark said.

5. His number is up in the air

Janmark has always worn the number 13 in his NHL career.

It’s taken on the Knights by forward Tomas Jurco, who played his second game Monday in Los Angeles. That could force Janmark to go number shopping.

“We’ll see when I get there,” Janmark said. “I’m sure they’ll have a few empty numbers.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.