Canadiens, Penguins, Red Wings Interested In Nicolas Hague
Nicolas Hague‘s trade market continues to percolate. The Canadiens, Penguins, and Red Wings have joined the previously reported Flyers in demonstrating interest in the Golden Knights’ pending RFA defenseman’s services, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period today. Pagnotta added that the Golden Knights have informed Hague’s camp their focus is on a trade rather than a new contract, although a move is “not a guarantee.”
Hague is an intriguing option for teams looking to add a lefty who can cycle into top-four minutes amid a rather weak UFA market. He would slot in the third tier of available left-shot rearguards if he were old enough for unrestricted free agency, along with names like Brian Dumoulin, Matt Grzelcyk, Ryan Lindgren, and Nate Schmidt. He is, of course, younger than all of those options and, although he’s 26 years old, may still have a bit of room to grow into a steadier second-pairing piece. He’s projected to receive a two-year deal worth north of $2.6MM per season this summer, according to AFP Analytics. While that’s a tad prohibitive for the Golden Knights, who have bigger moves in mind, it won’t be a salary-cap hurdle for nearly every interested party.
The 6’6″ defender was Vegas’ own second-round pick in their inaugural 2017 draft class. Hague has spent his entire career in Nevada, almost exclusively as the left-shot option on their third pairing. Buried on the depth chart for years behind Brayden McNabb and now Noah Hanifin as well, his ice time took a small hit this year, averaging 17 minutes per game following three years of seeing 18-plus per game.
A steady 10-20 point producer, that’s not why teams are interested. He’s a good fringe second-pairing option with PK deployability, size, physicality, and historically strong possession metrics. ‘Historically’ is doing some heavy lifting there, though. His two-way play wasn’t particularly adept in 2024-25, at least at even strength. His -4.9% relative shot-attempt share was a career-low, especially considering he received rather even offensive and defensive zone deployment. His control of possession quality (expected goals) also fell below 50% at even strength for the first time in his six-year career.
There’s enough of a track record there for reasonable optimism surrounding a rebound, though. The Ontario native enters the summer with 83 points and a +20 rating in 364 career regular-season games, and he logged 18:34 per night in Vegas’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup.
Perhaps no team among those mentioned needs a cost-effective player like Hague more than Detroit. Negative-value signings on defense over the past few years have hampered their ability to exit their rebuild, with aging names like Ben Chiarot and Justin Holl incapable of having success in anything above a third-pairing role. Hague, while untested in 20-plus minute deployment, would be a younger, cheaper, and better-skating option than any of those other supplemental pieces behind young core defenders Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson.
There’s also a clear need for Hague’s services in Pittsburgh. While the Penguins are under far less pressure to contend for a playoff spot in 2025-26 than the Red Wings, they simply need more defenders in the system to avoid overdeploying their younger prospects while also ideally having the flexibility to move on from Erik Karlsson and begin winding down Kris Letang‘s workload. The Pens need another pickup on top of just Hague to accomplish that, but he’d go a long way toward helping and would immediately become their top left-shot option ahead of a paper-thin group behind him.
Hague would see a more familiar depth role in Montreal if that’s where he ends up. His acquisition is less about shifting him into top-four deployment – Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, and Mike Matheson are all lefties and have that covered. It would be more about flexing enforcer Arber Xhekaj into a No. 6/7 role while having Hague replace him as the everyday left-shot option on their third pairing.
Philadelphia Flyers Interested In Nicolas Hague
In his recent recurring segment on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Elliotte Friedman has listed one suitor for Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague should he be made available. Friedman believes that the Philadelphia Flyers have already indicated their interest in Hague to the Golden Knights.
The Flyers’ interest in Hague appears peculiar at first glance. Hague is only a year away from unrestricted free agency and would become the sixth left-handed defenseman on Philadelphia’s active roster.
No report has indicated that Vegas is looking to move Hague, only that there had been some interest in him. One would reasonably assume that any motivation the Golden Knights have for moving Hague would be their tight salary cap situation as they enter the summer months with only $9.6MM in flexibility according to PuckPedia.
Assuming that is Vegas’s motivation, there’s little chance they’d be open to acquiring any left-handed defenseman off the Flyers roster unless it was Emil Andrae, who’s set to make $903K in the 2025-26 season. Still, Philadelphia’s reported interest becomes clearer when looking at Hague’s defensive metrics throughout his time with the Golden Knights.
He’s never been much of a point-producer, scoring 20 goals and 83 points across 364 regular season games in Vegas, but has racked up 489 blocked shots and 572 hits in that span. Additionally, Hague owns a solid 49.7% CorsiFor% throughout his career, and a 90.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
If the Flyers are unable to improve their goaltending situation this summer, acquiring a player of Hague’s stature would help alleviate some of those issues. There’s no questioning Philadelphia’s poor goaltending from the 2024-25 season, and they weren’t a stellar possession team either.
Acquiring Hague would give them a responsible defender who has excelled at even strength and on the penalty kill. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Flyers carrying six left-handed defensemen on their roster next year, regardless of Hague’s implied value to the club.
Golden Knights Receiving Interest In Nicolas Hague
Nicolas Hague has been one of the longest-tenured Golden Knights players. He has spent the last six seasons with the team and was one of their first-ever draft picks back in 2017. But his time in Vegas might be coming to an end as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the team has started to field calls about Hague in advance of his upcoming restricted free agency.
The 26-year-old has never been a big point producer at the NHL level as his career high in that regard is just 17, set back in 2020-21 and 2022-23. However, Hague has been a steady physical shutdown defender throughout his NHL career, a role he should be able to fill for several more years.
This past season, Hague played in 68 games for Vegas, picking up five goals and seven assists while averaging 17 minutes a night. He also chipped in with 74 blocked shots and 82 hits, numbers that were a fair bit below the 111 and 153, respectively, he had the year before.
Hague is entering his final year of restricted free agency and will have arbitration eligibility for the first time. His qualifying offer also checks in above his cap hit from the last three seasons at $2.7MM and it stands to reason he could push past $3MM on a one-year deal if he makes it to a hearing. Meanwhile, a longer-term pact could land closer to the $4MM range.
That’s an amount that the Golden Knights might not be able to afford. They presently have $9.6MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, but have several roster spots to fill with that money. Reilly Smith, Victor Olofsson, Brandon Saad, and Ilya Samsonov highlight the list of pending unrestricted free agents while Hague and Alexander Holtz are the notable restricted free agents. If Vegas wants to try to add a piece or two this summer, they’re going to have to go cheap to fill the other roster spots which could push Hague out, making his case one to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Avalanche, Middleton
The Vegas Golden Knights were one of many teams to get a wave of positive injury updates on Friday. Neither star forward Jack Eichel nor top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo are expected to play on Saturday, but both are nearing a return, head coach Bruce Cassidy told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Both players have missed Vegas’ last two games – Eichel with a day-to-day upper-body injury and Pietrangelo with illness. That same illness has also held winger Victor Olofsson and defender Nicolas Hague out of Vegas’ last two games. Cassidy shared that he had no updates on the latter two absentees, as they’re away from the rink with their sickness.
Getting Eichel back from injury will be a major addition as Vegas prepares for the postseason. He leads the squad in scoring this year with 27 goals and 93 points in 76 games – nearly 30 more points than Mark Stone‘s 67 points ranked second. This is Eichel’s first season playing more than 70 games since the 2018-19 season, when he recorded his previous career-high 82 points with the Buffalo Sabres. The year has been more a return to routine health than a true breakout, but either way, Eichel has smashed his career-mark and is set to rival 100 points for the first time in his career. He’ll likely fall just short, as Vegas has just two games left after Saturday’s matchup against Nashville.
Meanwhile, Pietrangelo leads a strong – but sick – supporting cast. He has 33 points in 70 games this season, third-most on the Vegas blue-line. Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights lineup in average ice time per game with 22:24 – surprisingly the lowest ice time average he’s recorded since his rookie season in 2010-11. He’ll jump right back to a top-pair role when he returns, while Olofsson and Hague will find their way in Vegas’ middle lines. Olofsson has managed 14 goals and 27 points in 54 games this season – stout scoring for his first year with the club. Hague, meanwhile, once again ranks near the bottom of scoring among Golden Knights defenders, with just 11 points in 66 games so far.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- A pair of veteran members of the Avalanche took a step toward returning as Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays that winger Jonathan Drouin joined the team for practice yesterday in a non-contact jersey as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, defenseman Josh Manson (upper body) skated on his own. Drouin has been banged up all season but has been productive when healthy, collecting 37 points in 43 games, good for sixth on the team in scoring despite missing 37 contests. Manson, meanwhile, has been out for nearly a month now but has done well when playing, collecting 15 points in 48 games while averaging a little over 18 minutes per night of playing time.
- Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton missed his third straight game last night due to an upper-body injury. However, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that the blueliner is a possibility to return for tonight’s contest in Vancouver. Middleton has been a critical part of Minnesota’s back end this year, logging nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time while also chipping in with 20 points in 66 outings. The Wild are still trying to lock down a playoff spot and getting Middleton back would be a big boost to help them try to do just that.
PHR’s Brian La Rose also contributed to this post.
Golden Knights Activate Nicolas Hague, Pietrangelo Still Day-To-Day
The Vegas Golden Knights will see the return of defenseman Nicolas Hague this evening as the organization announced they activated him off the injured reserve shortly before their contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Hague has been on the shelf for three weeks with an undisclosed injury and will play in his first contest tonight since November 2nd.
Hague has been an ultra-consistent defenseman for the Golden Knights since the team selected him with the 34th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s coming off an impressive stretch from 2022 to 2024 which saw him post some of the best defensive metrics of his career.
His 154-game stretch over the last two years only yielded five goals and 29 points on offense. On the defensive side of the puck, Hague racked up 244 blocks, 27o hits, a 91.3% on-ice save percentage in all situations, and an Expected +/- of 2.8. He became a focal piece of the Golden Knights defensive core leading the organization to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2023.
It unfortunately won’t be a completely healthy defensive core for Vegas tonight against Montreal. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is still considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Webster confirmed that Pietrangelo is progressing well through his injury but he will still miss his second straight game due to the ailment.
West Notes: Demko, Stone, Hague, Hartman
Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko has taken another important step back in his recovery from a popliteus muscle injury. Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that the netminder worked on the ice today with goalie coach Marko Torenius before practice today; it’s believed this is his first day back on the ice after working out on his own over the last few weeks. Demko has yet to play this season due to the injury, one that took him out early in the first round of the playoffs back in the spring. That resulted in Vancouver signing Kevin Lankinen early in training camp, a move that has worked out well as he has posted a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% in his first six starts.
More from the West:
- Golden Knights winger Mark Stone missed practice today for personal reasons, the team announced (Twitter link). The 32-year-old is off to quite the start to his season, leading the league in scoring with five goals and 14 assists in 11 games. Stone has dealt with lingering back issues for the past several years but fortunately for Vegas, this absence isn’t injury-related. It’s unclear if he will be available for their next game Saturday versus Utah as his wife is ready to give birth to their second child.
- Still with Vegas, the team also noted (Twitter link) that defenseman Nicolas Hague was back at practice today. He has been dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for three straight games but he wasn’t moved to injured reserve. The 25-year-old was off to a slow start before the injury, notching one goal, 11 blocks, and nine hits in eight games so far.
- With the Wild back at home for the first time in nearly three weeks, they will indeed welcome Ryan Hartman back to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo (Twitter link). That was the expected outcome after Liam Ohgren was returned to the minors yesterday. Hartman missed the last five games with an upper-body injury after scoring twice in his first four outings.
West Notes: Jiricek, Kesselring, Hague
The St. Louis Blues have reassigned defenseman Adam Jiricek to the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs (news release). Jiricek was the 16th overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft and will bring a wealth of experience to the Bulldogs, having already accumulated 31 games of professional experience in his native Czechia.
The younger brother of Columbus defenseman David Jiricek has played quite a bit internationally in the last few seasons, including appearances in the U17 World Hockey Challenge, U18 World Hockey Championships, Hlinka-Gretzky Cup & World Junior Hockey Championships.
In other Western Conference notes:
- Utah Hockey Club defenseman Michael Kesselring is out with an illness and will be a game-time decision tomorrow night (as per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune). Kesselring logged almost 23 minutes in ice time last night in a loss against the San Jose Sharks but woke up and was sick with a fever today. The 24-year-old has seen a huge increase in ice time this season, averaging over 20 minutes a night in the absence of top-four defensemen John Marino and Sean Durzi. Kesselring has filled in admirably, posting two goals and three assists in 10 games this season.
- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague has been officially ruled out for tomorrow night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings (as per Sin Bin Vegas). The 25-year-old skated by himself as he ramped up his efforts to get back into the lineup. Hague last played on October 25th and will miss his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Kaedan Korczak will likely continue to fill in for Hague on the Golden Knights backend. Korczak has dressed in three games this season, posting a single assist while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.
Evening Notes: Vesey, Hague, Joseph
Mollie Walker of New York Post Sports reports that New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey has been upgraded from a non-contact jersey and skated in a regular one today at Rangers practice. The 31-year-old sustained a lower-body injury during the preseason and has yet to dress in a regular game after playing 80 games last season and 81 the year before.
The Boston, Massachusetts native only resumed skating last Thursday and could play at some point this week if he progresses. New York has been using a revolving group of forwards in Vesey’s absence and re-called Matt Rempe yesterday from Hartford to presumably fill in until Vesey is ready to return.
In other evening notes:
- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague remains day to day with a lower-body injury (as per Jesse Granger of The Athletic). The 25-year-old was injured in the second period of Friday night’s 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators after scoring his first goal of the season earlier in the game. Kaedan Korczak replaced Hague on Saturday against San Jose, and it appears as though Hague will miss tonight’s game against Calgary. Hague has a single point on the season in eight games and has struggled to start the year as his possession numbers have been abysmal with a 37.8 CF% at even strength (as per Hockey Reference).
- St. Louis Blues forward Mathieu Joseph will be returning to St. Louis to be evaluated after he suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Montreal (as per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post Dispatch). Joseph will reportedly miss the remainder of the Blues road trip which sees them in Ottawa tomorrow night and Philadelphia on Thursday. Joseph has had a decent start in his first season with St. Louis posting two goals and two assists in nine games while being one of the team’s top penalty-killing options.
Pacific Notes: Vegas Injuries, Bahl, Gazizov
The Vegas Golden Knights were without forward William Karlsson and defenseman Nicolas Hague at practice today (X Link). The former hasn’t been with the team since this past Sunday while Hague seemingly injured himself in last night’s preseason contests against the Los Angeles Kings.
One would reasonably assume Karlsson is dealing with an undisclosed injury given that Vegas held him out of Tuesday’s practice and the game yesterday evening. He did practice toward the start of training camp but may enter the 2024-25 regular season without factoring into a preseason game. Karlsson is coming off another solid season for the Golden Knights last year scoring 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games and will look to build on that total this year.
Hague shouldn’t be out too long with Jesse Granger of The Athletic reporting he was out for a maintenance day. This was thought to be the likely reason for his absence from practice today as Hague returned to play the rest of last night’s action after missing briefly at the start of the second period. Granger shared that head coach Bruce Cassidy expects Hague to return to practice tomorrow with the team.
Other Pacific notes:
- Head coach of the Calgary Flames, Ryan Huska, indicates defenseman Kevin Bahl could be making his preseason debut with the organization as reported by Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. The 6’6″ defenseman is preparing to begin his first year with the Flames after being the only player acquired by the team in the trade that sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils. Steinberg shares that Bahl has been nursing a lower-body injury which has precluded him from skating with the team so far but gave no indication when the injury was suffered.
- The AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, the San Diego Gulls, are bringing in a bit of forward depth announcing a one-year standard contract for Ruslan Gazizov. It will mark Gazizov’s first year in professional hockey after an impressive three-year run with the OHL’s London Knights. The young Russian forward finished third on the Knights in scoring last season with 36 goals and 81 points in 63 games including another seven goals and 14 points in 15 playoff contests.
Golden Knights Notes: Marchessault, Hague, Lehner
The Vegas Golden Knights met with the media today to discuss their season and the future of the franchise. One player whose future is unclear is Jonathan Marchessault, a player who has been with the organization since the beginning in 2017. According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Marchessault told the media that he and Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon met earlier in the day with both sides saying that they have a mutual interest in working out an extension to keep the 33-year-old in Vegas.
The Conn Smythe Trophy winner from last year’s Stanley Cup run is one of just five players remaining from Vegas’ inaugural 2017-18 season and he is the Golden Knights all-time point leader with 417 points in seven seasons with the team. While both sides have mutual interest in an extension, the Golden Knights are pushed right up against the salary cap and have several key free agents including Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Alec Martinez, and Anthony Mantha.
In other Golden Knights notes:
- Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague reportedly has a lower-body injury that will not require surgery (according to SinBin Vegas). Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon told the media that the 25-year-old should be healthy and available for the start of next season. Hague suffered the injury in game 1 against the Dallas Stars and did not play for the rest of the series. Hague took his physicality to another level this season, dishing out 153 hits in just 73 games. The Kitchener, Ontario native doesn’t put up much in the way of offence and struggled down the stretch going scoreless in the final 20 games.
- SinBin Vegas also reported that Kelly McCrimmon offered an update on the status of goaltender Robin Lehner. McCrimmon told reporters that if Lehner can’t play next season he will remain on the long-term injured reserve. McCrimmon went on to add that it might very well be the case that Lehner can’t play and the news isn’t overly surprising given that Lehner missed the last two seasons and hasn’t played since April 2022 after undergoing hip surgery. Lehner has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM and if he remains on LTIR it would allow Vegas to exceed the cap by that amount.