The Flyers have two more teams competing for the services of Nicolas Hague. (Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie, Imagn Images)
If the Philadelphia Flyers truly want to trade for Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague, they may have to outbid two other NHL teams, including a Metropolitan Division rival, to get the deal over the line.
In a June 5 column for the Toronto Sun, former NHLer Nick Kypreos revealed that both the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins are in pursuit of the Flyers trade target.
"There aren’t many quality UFA defencemen out there, so that makes Nicolas Hague of the Golden Knights a very attractive trade chip if and when Vegas decides to move him because of limited salary cap space," Kypreos wrote. "I’m hearing the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins are hot on the trail to potentially trade for him."
It was previously reported by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman that the Flyers have been connected to Golden Knights trade talks for the 26-year-old Hague, a pending restricted free agent and left-shot defender.
It is worth noting that the Flyers have not made much progress in contract talks with Cam York, also an RFA who could be traded ahead of or offer-sheeted on July 1.
As for the other teams, the Canadiens have $6 million in cap space with only six defensemen on their active roster, including prospect Logan Mailloux and a role player in Arber Xhekaj. David Savard is retiring from the NHL, while Jayden Struble, a left-shot like Hague, is an RFA.
The Penguins, the Flyers' most hated rivals, are in need of left-shots after trading Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Hague has struggled in an elevated role on defense for the Golden Knights. (Evolving-Hockey)
Their left side currently consists of free agency bust Ryan Graves, journeyman Ryan Shea, and prospects Owen Pickering and Vladislav Kolyachonok. Veteran Matt Grzelcyk is a UFA this summer, while P.O. Joseph and Conor Timmins are both RFAs.
Effectively, this is all to say that Kypreos's report tracks, as both the Canadiens and Penguins have a greater need for an addition on defense than the Flyers do, especially on the left side.
Even without York, the Flyers still have Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Egor Zamula, and Emil Andrae to hold down the fort, though it's unclear if new head coach Rick Tocchet will use Sanheim on the right as John Tortorella and Brad Shaw had over the last few seasons.
That being said, if the Flyers want to beat out the Canadiens and Penguins to secure Hague's services and signature, they may have to win a bidding war to do it.
