Avalanche Trade Talk: Is Vegas’ Nicolas Hague a Worthy Target?

We’re often fed with hype of player movement heading into each offseason. Usually, at least to me, the results don’t match that hype and somewhat underdeliver. But this year has my attention.

The rising salary cap, the upcoming new CBA, pressure in smaller markets to win, and a weaker free agent class are all reasons why the trade market might very well deliver this summer. And the rumors are already starting to ramp up.

In Vegas, the Golden Knights, who are never shy to making bold moves, are reportedly shopping one of their young defensemen. Nicolas Hague — drafted in the second round in 2017 — is a restricted free agent and is garnering interest from around the league.

Hague, 26, is a tough customer. He doesn’t quite throw his body around as much as he should for someone listed at 6’6, 230 lbs. But he’s a towering force that plays on the penalty kill and could provide more of that mean, rugged presence that the Avs need on the blueline.

The only issue would be finding the right fit for him in the lineup.

The Knights have Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin, and Shea Theodore in a class above the rest on their blueline. They each play significant minutes and are offensive puck-movers (albeit Pietrangelo is starting to slow down somewhat).

Brayden McNabb rounds out their top four, keeping Hague on the third pair with Zac Whitecloud. All that’s to say, Hague averaged only 17 minutes per game this past season. And it’s probably because there wasn’t much of an opportunity for him to rise in the lineup.

He’s also not known to be much of a point producer and doesn’t play on the power play. But the Avs have plenty of that. They often hold the league’s highest offensive contributions from defensemen.

Given the limited role he played, it’s a little difficult to truly gauge where his ceiling is. Bringing him in to be a third pair left-shot defenseman (like Ryan Lindgren was) would be extremely valuable to the Avalanche.

But at what cost?

It’s unclear, as of now, to determine what kind of contract Hague is looking for. His qualifying offering is $2.7 million, and he was making a shade under $2.3 million in each of the last three seasons. But he’s likely looking for a bigger cap hit, more term, and a stable role on the Knights or elsewhere.

Is he worthy of second-line minutes? Perhaps. That’s something the Avs’ pro scouts might need to dig into. But it would also mean Colorado would have to move Samuel Girard and perhaps even bring in a new righty for Hague to play with. Unless the team is fine with Josh Manson being the more offensively gifted of the two on the second pair.

Hague is an intriguing player and certainly could be a fit if it makes sense for Colorado from a salary standpoint. I still do believe the priority for Chris MacFarland should be to rebuild the general look of the bottom four on defense. Whether that means trading Manson or demoting him to the third pair, while also shipping Girard out.

If so, maybe there could be a fit.