Golden Knights defenceman may become casualty of cap crunch
The Vegas Golden Knights are in a bit of a cap crunch going into the 2022-23 season. On Thursday, it was reported that Vegas is set to re-sign forward Reilly Smith to a three-year contract in the $5 million AAV range.
In order to alleviate that cap crunch, they will have to move a contract or two out, but according to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, a pair of Eastern Conference clubs are interested in defenceman Nic Hague, who isn't under contract next season and is set to become an RFA.
Hague, 23, was selected by Vegas in the second round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Kitchener native appeared in 52 games for the Golden Knights this season, tallying fourteen points (four goals, ten assists), 38 penalty minutes and was a plus-six.
Hague brings a big presence to the blue line, standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds. He plays a fairly strong two-way game for his size, but has become more refined in the defensive part of his game over the last couple of years. He would likely slot in on the third pairing for any team that acquires him, but Hague took on a bit more responsibility this season with Vegas, seeing his average ice time rise to 18:40 from 16:00 in the previous year.
Hearing at least two Eastern Conference teams are seriously interested in acquiring Vegas defenseman Nic Hague. Golden Knights obviously in a cap crunch right now; Hague needs new RFA contract.— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) June 26, 2022
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matt Duchene | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Samuel Girard | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Oliver Kylington | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anton Lundell | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Patrick Maroon | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lukas Reichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marco Rossi | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tomas Tatar | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Carcone | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||