Nicolas Hague spent six seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights before joining the Nashville Predators in a trade June 30.
The defenseman was traded for forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, moving from a team that won the Stanley Cup in 2023 and the Pacific Division in 2025 to a team that went 33-40-8 and missed the NHL playoffs.
Nashville’s down year isn’t a discouragement to Hague. He believes the Predators are − and were − better than their record shows.
“I thought it was kind of a fluke,” Hague said July 10 during an introductory news conference at Bridgestone Arena.
It’s the kind of thing that’s going to light a fire under players. Hague has experienced it firsthand.
“The year before we won (the Stanley Cup) in Vegas, we missed the playoffs,” Hague said. “That didn’t sit well with anybody, and we were hungry. It felt like we had something to prove coming into the next year, and obviously we were able to do that in the fullest sense. It’s a powerful feeling.”
Having the experience of recently hoisting the Stanley Cup is something that Hague looks to bring to Nashville. The defenseman wants to help his new teammates tackle obstacles they may have not faced before.
“The playoffs are a thing that you never really know what you’re getting yourself into until you go through it,” Hague said. “I think the experience, other than managing the highs and lows of what can happen throughout a playoff run, you don’t want to get too stressed out. If something goes bad, you have everything the next shift or the next game. Having been through that before, it’s obviously a huge help.”
General manager Barry Trotz has floated the idea of having left defenseman Roman Josi and Hague on the ice at the same time, and it’s something Hague is comfortable doing.
“I’ve played a lot of both,” Hague said. “I played the right all throughout my junior career, mostly on the left side in Vegas, but a little bit on the right when they needed me. I’m comfortable playing on both sides, so I’ll play wherever Coach puts me.”
It’s something that the defenseman is looking forward to. Hague is ready to play alongside Josi and Brady Skjei.
“They’re obviously two of the best in the league,” Hague said. “Josi has been doing this for a long time, and he’s just a special defenseman. I am really excited just to be a part of it, to learn from those guys and play with those guys.”
Hague is also getting to play with a familiar face in wing Jonathan Marchessault, a former teammate in Las Vegas who joined the Predators as a free agent before the 2024-25 season. They were both members of the Golden Knights when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Marchessault “is a really good friend. It’s going to be fun to reconnect with him,” Hague said. “We were pretty close in Vegas with them over the years and lived right down the street from them. It’ll be good to see him, Alex and the kids. It’ll be nice to know a face around here.”
Though he’s been in Nashville for just a short amount of time, Hague is already getting acclimated to his new home.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about it here,” he said. “Talking to the guys, it just seems like such a great place to live and great place to play. I always loved visiting to play.”
Alaina Morris is the summer sports intern for The Tennessean. Contact her at amorris@gannett.com or on X @alainammorris.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nicolas Hague on being traded to Nashville Predators from Vegas