The Philadelphia Flyers are looking to take the next step in their rebuild and apparently, that next step might include acquiring a gigantic defenseman this summer.
The rumor mill continues to rumble, with talk now surfacing that the Flyers could be interested in Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during a radio hit in Toronto.
Elliotte Friedman: Philadelphia has been linked to Vegas defenseman Nic Hague in trade talks – SN590
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 4, 2025
There have been previous links between the two teams and small-time rumors that this supposed deal is going to be a Flyers winger heading to Las Vegas for one of their blueliners. And now with more reports that Hague is available to be traded and the Flyers are interested, that appears to be the target.
Hague, 26, is an imposing figure on the back end at 6-foot-6 and 240 lbs. A second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, Hague played 68 games for Vegas this year, registering five goals and seven assists in that time. Clearly, he wouldn’t be acquired for his offensive prowess. It’s the fact he can knock players on their backside and be a younger, possibly cheaper and more menacing defenseman than Rasmus Ristolainen. During 11 playoff games, Hague had two assists but is probably best remembered for manhandling Edmonton forward Trent Frederic in a fight during their second round series.
The hulking defenseman is a pending restricted free agent, so if the Flyers do acquire him, he will need to be signed to a new contract. Hague is one year away from unrestricted free agency so no matter what, the new deal would be expiring with him as an unrestricted free agent.
As it stands now, Ristolainen is currently rehabbing from yet another surgery to fix a ruptured right triceps tendon. So, it’s anyone’s guess when Ristolainen returns to full health. The official timeline is that he will be missing all of Flyers training camp and is therefore questionable to start the season on time.
Obtaining a player such as Hague would certainly fill that position. And it would probably push Nick Seeler down from the third pairing to a seventh defenseman depending on if any young blue line prospects make the cut at training camp.
Regarding who the Flyers could part with, Philadelphia have a surplus of wingers and prospects who don’t play down the middle. Unless the Flyers lose their minds and part with Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov for Hague, Philadelphia could be looking to part with Bobby Brink, who still has a year left on his contract and remains a RFA at the end of this season and could be seen as dealing from surplus.
It’s unlikely Flyers general manager Danny Briere would swap Tyson Foerster after recently signing him to a bridge contract. The Flyers also have plenty of wingers in the pipeline but wouldn’t seemingly part with Alex Bump or Nikita Grebenkin. Those players look to fit as pieces down the road as the team hopefully heads towards contention.
A prospect such as right winger Alexis Gendron or Samu Tuomaala might not be enough to land Hague unless it was two young prospects on the farm. Zayde Wisdom is another young winger who could be on the Knights’ radar. The only other possibility would be Owen Tippett. Tippett had a rather unremarkable 2024-25, the first year of an eight-year, $49.6 million contract. It might be too early to give up on the winger after a lackluster season, but Tippett needs to become a consistent 30-goal scorer in order for the contract to make sense. While losing Tippett might be a case of Vegas fleecing Philadelphia, that cap space could certainly address issues when it comes to trying to resolve the goaltending issue. And acquiring a genuine high-end center.
Obviously, it’s expected that conversations will continue the closer we get to the 2025 NHL Draft on June 27. The Flyers and Vegas have done some business in the past. In March 2024, Philadelphia ate a portion of Noah Hanifin’s contract in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2024. Whether they do some more in the coming weeks remains to be seen.
