Nicolas Hague has a new team — and a new deal.
The six-foot-six left-shot defenceman has signed a four-year, $22-million contract extension with the Nashville Predators after being traded from the Vegas Golden Knights.
Hague, 26, had been with the Golden Knights since being selected 34th overall by the organization in the 2017 NHL Draft.
The Kitchener, Ont., native recorded five goals and seven assists in 68 games last season, then added two assists in 11 playoff games before the Edmonton Oilers eliminated Vegas in the second round.
He was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, with his three-year, $6.88-million contract expiring this off-season.
Over 364 career NHL games, Hague has 83 points (20 goals and 63 assists).
He was part of the Golden Knights' Stanley Cup-winning team in 2023, recording two goals and six points in 22 playoff games.
Nashville also acquired a conditional third-round pick in 2027 from Vegas in the trade, with defenceman Jeremy Lauzon and centre Colton Sissons heading the other way.
Lauzon, 28, missed most of the 2024-25 season after suffering a lower-body injury in a game against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 31.
The defenceman had one assist in the 28 games he appeared in.
A native of Val-d'Or, Que., Lauzon has 45 points (14 goals and 31 assists) in 316 career NHL games split between the Predators, Seattle Kraken and Boston Bruins.
Sissons, 31, is also leaving the only NHL team he’s played for to this point, having been drafted 50th overall by the Predators in 2012.
The North Vancouver, B.C., native had 21 points (seven goals and 14 assists) in 72 games last season, and has 221 points (95 goals and 126 assists) in 690 career NHL games.
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Nashville will retain 50 per cent of Sissons' $2.86-million salary for the 2025-26 season.
The trade comes as teams shuffle their rosters ahead of the NHL's free agency signing period, which opens Tuesday.
The Predators are retooling their lineup after missing the playoffs for the second time in three years.
The Golden Knights essentially freed up salary cap space by removing the uncertainty of what they stood in having to pay Hague, for the cost-certainty of adding two players entering the final years of their respective contracts.
Vegas has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who is regarded as the top free agent set to enter the market.
-- with files from The Associated Press
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