The Nashville Predators have big expectations for newly acquired defenseman Nicolas Hague.
Picked up in a three-player trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on June 29, sending Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons to Vegas, while retaining 50% of Sissons' salary.
Hague was signed to a 4-year, $22 million contract, showing the Predators really want to invest in the 6-foot-6-inch defenseman. In addition, general manager Barry Trotz said that he wants Hague playing on the first pairing and the NHL projects that's where he'll be.
Statistically, Hague hasn't been a top-four defenseman in his professional career. In his six seasons in Vegas, he played on the bottom pairing and hasn't scored more than 17 points in a season.
During the 2024-25 campaign, he had 12 points in 68 games and had a plus/minus of -2, which was the lowest among the Golden Knights' defensemen.
While the Predators aim to become bigger and younger, they need to improve their scoring in all areas of the ice. Even Trotz said that wingers and defensemen will need to step up in order to fill the lack of depth at center.
Despite playing in a very offensively active defense system last season, Hague really wasn't scoring.
On the other hand, his projected defensive partner has been that offensive push from the blue line throughout his entire career. Roman Josi has averaged around 52 points over 14 seasons and a plus/minus of four.
Even last season, which was one of the worst in franchise history and saw Josi miss the latter end of the year due to a POTS diagnosis, he still scored 38 points in 53 games. Josi is expected to return in time for training camp and be a leading force in upping the offense from the defenseman.
So, how is Hague, a player who has not proven to be an offensive threat from the blue line, going to complement Josi, the Predators' biggest scoring threat from the top of the circles?
Josi started the season playing with Brady Skeji, but moved around with partners throughout the season, not really settling in one place. A significant part of that was due to injuries, which prevented any defensive pairings from really solidifying.
Part of this could be spreading out the scoring in the lineup, putting Josi and Skeji on different lines to activate the scoring depth instead of relying too heavily on the first pairing.
Having Hague paired with Josi could open up the ice more for Josi. With Hague being a bigger body and a more traditional defenseman, having a more physical player paired with him could allow Josi to eclipse 60 points for the first time since the 2023-24 season.
On the flip side, this could also crash and burn quickly.
It may be a "two to tango" situation where Josi needs that similar push from the other side of the ice and Hague can't meet it. This is the first time in his career that Hague has been tasked with a top-four role.
He does have experience playing for good teams and winning the Stanley Cup in 2023, but if Hague is called upon to score, it may not be there immediately.
Predator fans need to be aware of what they're getting with Hague. Trotz likes these big and physical players, but most of the time they don't meet the team's need to score. Hague hasn't been an offensive threat since playing in juniors almost a decade ago.
If Nashville expects Hague to meet Josi's pace come Oct. 9, statically, it'll likely not be there.
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