The NHL offseason is officially just a few weeks away, and the rumors are already swirling in each and every direction.
Last week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that the Philadelphia Flyers have been linked to Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague.
The 26-year-old defenseman has spent his entire career in Vegas and is due a new contract as a restricted free agent. With the Golden Knights looking to potentially add some pieces (Mitch Marner?) this offseason, and five NHL defensemen signed past next season, trading Hague rather than re-signing him may be the way to go for Vegas.
Now this week, The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta has reported that the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings are also interested in the blueliner. Pagnotta went on to say that while no price has been set for Hague, the Golden Knights are believed to be in the market for a top-six winger and could try to land one for the defenseman.
Well, if that is the price for a depth defenseman, the Flyers should stay away. Hell, even if the price is anything more than a second-round pick (third-round, ideally) and/or a prospect, Danny Briere and Keith Jones should look the other way.
The Flyers are likely drawn to Hague due to his size at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, and it doesn’t hurt that the left-hand shot can also play on the right side. However, the Flyers already have a few of those types of players, and while Hague would definitely be an upgrade over, say, Nick Seeler or Egor Zamula, the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze.
Last season, according to MoneyPuck, Hague got a chance to play up the lineup in 326 minutes with Alex Pietrangelo, but that pair posted a 47.7% Expected Goals Share — by far the worst among their most-used pairs (Noah Hanifin and Pietrangelo had 55.5% in 771 minutes, for reference). He also played 172 minutes with Kaeden Korczak, posting a 47.9% xGF. And just to round things out, a Hanifin-Hague pair had a 45.7% xGF in 128 minutes.
Hague was a bit better in the 2024-25 season, playing 557 minutes with Zach Whitecloud with a 50.5% xGF, and 61.1% in 226 minutes with Hanifin.
Overall in the last three seasons, the Golden Knights have had nine defensemen play over 1,000 minutes and five over 3,000 minutes, including Hague. Among them, Hague has the worst 5-on-5 xGF at 48.68% with those other 3,000+ minute defensemen over 50%. He also ranks last in shot attempt share at 47.17%.
This isn’t to say that Hague is necessarily a bad defenseman. He was the 34th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and his playoff experience, combined with his siz,e will always keep him on the radar across the NHL.
The change of scenery aspect is also an interesting one. The Flyers were able to turn Rasmus Ristolainen into a solid second-pair defenseman, but that was under Brad Shaw. They’re still searching for their assistant coach who will manage the blue line.
If the Flyers are able to land Hague at a reasonable price, or take back someone like William Karlsson, who the Golden Knights may be looking to move due to his $5.9 million cap hit, it could very well be worth their while.
It’s not like the Flyers are exactly loaded on defense. Sure, they have five NHL defensemen under contract, plus Cam York as a restricted free agent, but it wouldn’t be shocking if Rasmus Ristolainen isn’t ready for the season after offseason surgery.
The Flyers don’t really have any other big defensemen who are ready to fill that role.
Hunter McDonald has been hyped up by the front office, but the 23-year-old blueliner should probably still be in the AHL to start next season. Another potential option would be Helge Grans, who recently signed a two-year extension and was also passable in six games last season. But if Ristolainen is out long-term, or possibly traded at some point, the Flyers will want a defenseman who can play closer to his style.
But the Flyers won’t necessarily have to fill that hole if Ristolainen is ready for the start of the season. They also have plenty of free agents to choose from, as well as other possible trade partners where they wouldn’t have to give up as much as for Hague.
As with any trade rumors or potential moves for Briere & Co., it has to make sense. Giving up assets for a guy like Hague rather than looking to sign a depth defenseman in free agency just doesn’t pass the sniff test for me.
