May 29: Hagg is indeed heading to Brynas on a one-year deal, per a team announcement.
May 17: After seeing very limited NHL action this season, pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Robert Hagg is heading home. The blueliner confirmed to Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom that he will be playing in the SHL next season; SportBladet’s Hans Abrahamsson adds that Hagg is expected to sign a one-year deal with Brynas.
The 30-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Golden Knights last summer but he once again spent the bulk of the season in the minors with AHL Henderson where he had six goals and 21 assists in 54 games, his best offensive showing at that level. However, his improved play didn’t give Hagg much of an opportunity with Vegas as he suited up just twice with them in late November.
Having cleared waivers for two straight years now while then spending the bulk of those campaigns in the AHL, the writing is clearly on the wall for Hagg. He’s now viewed as more of a depth defender than someone that can be counted on to be a regular contributor in the NHL. Accordingly, at this stage of his career, heading back home makes a lot of sense.
If this winds up being the end of the road for Hagg in North America, he’ll finish up with 345 career NHL appearances over parts of nine seasons across six organizations although more than two-thirds of those outings were with the Flyers. Overall, Hagg has 63 points, 532 blocks, and 1,017 hits at the top level while logging 16:28 per game on average.
If Hagg wasn’t always out of position looking for the big hit, he might have stayed in the NHL.