Trouble in Vegas; 23-year-old defenseman refusing to report to training camp
The Vegas Golden Knights have been the target of much scrutiny this summer, not only for their brutal mishandling of players and prospects in the system and constantly trading players as if they were stocks, but also for their cap mismanagement and their reported lack of accountability in the locker room.
Things may go from bad to worse for the Golden Knights, as they are still without a deal in place for defenseman Nicolas Hague, who has announced that talks between he and the team are not progressing at all. The 23-year-old has stated that he will not report to camp without a new deal.
Hague is entering his third NHL season and has never played more than 52 games in a single season. His career high is also 17 points, so it's not likely that he'll break the bank on his next deal.
The Golden Knights are more than $10M above the salary cap at the moment, which could be standing in the way of getting a deal done - though there are multiple players on the team who are expected to start the season on IR, plus goaltender Robin Lehner who is expected to miss the entire 2022-23 season and will ride out the year on LTIR. They also have the Shea Weber contract, which will provide ~$7.8M in additional LTIR relief.
Perhaps the Golden Knights are trying to put the squeeze on the Kitchener, ON native to get the best deal that they can, as they already have 6 NHL defensemen signed through next season (Pietrangelo, Martinez, Theodore, McNabb, Whitecloud, Hutton).
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 10 | 260 ANSWERS Trouble in Vegas; 23-year-old defenseman refusing to report to training camp Should the Leafs work out a Rasmus Sandin for Nicolas Hague trade with Vegas? | ||
| Yes | 135 | 51.9 % |
| No | 125 | 48.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
