Golden Knights defenseman still unsigned with opener looming

The Golden Knights are one exhibition tuneup away from the start of the regular season, but there’s a 6-foot-6-inch elephant still not in the room.

Defenseman Nic Hague remains unsigned four days before the season opener Tuesday in Los Angeles. He hasn’t participated in training camp while waiting for a new deal.

Coach Bruce Cassidy said Friday he wasn’t ready to rule out Hague for the opener. It would be a blow to the blue line to be without him. The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the team’s few homegrown regulars after being picked 34th overall in the 2017 draft.

“When he looks around the league, he wants to be compensated accordingly,” said Hague’s agent, Murray Koontz.

It’s not a total surprise that Hague’s negotiations dragged into training camp.

He’s a restricted free agent without arbitration rights, meaning he doesn’t carry a lot of leverage, and there are no firm deadlines for talks to conclude throughout the summer.

Hague will be eligible to play this season as long as he signs by 2 p.m. Dec. 1. Defenseman Shea Theodore missed 11 days of preseason when he was in the same situation in 2018. Four other restricted free agents entered training camp without deals this year.

Most of them have since signed. Dallas’ Jason Robertson, Edmonton’s Ryan McLeod and Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin received new contracts. Hague and Ottawa’s Alex Formenton are the only two left.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon has said re-signing Hague is the team’s top priority, but the drawn-out talks mean he has missed Cassidy’s first training camp. The Knights are switching to a zone defense, something that will take time for defensemen to pick up. Cassidy said some of the changes were communicated to Hague, who took part in the precamp informal workouts.

But he isn’t getting live reps against NHL players.

“He’s going to have to live it,” Cassidy said. “The longer you’re away, the tougher it’s going to be.”

Hague is preparing for the season. He has practiced with his hometown junior team, the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers, and his former one, the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads.

Hague’s 35-goal season with the Steelheads in 2017-18 made him one of the Knights’ most exciting prospects.

He’s one of the few players the franchise has drafted and developed. Hague leads all Knights’ draft picks in goals (10), assists (32), points (42) and games (142) for the team. He’s the highest selection remaining from the club’s inaugural 2017 draft after first-round picks Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom were traded.

The Knights will have to dig into their blue-line depth if Hague remains unavailable. Defenseman Ben Hutton, who played 58 games last season and has appeared in 437 NHL games, has spent most of camp in Hague’s spot on the third pair with defenseman Zach Whitecloud.

Prospect Kaedan Korczak and Jake Bischoff are also with the big club. Korczak, 21, is a 2019 second-round pick who has impressed Cassidy with his size, skating and puck-moving ability. Bischoff, 28, hasn’t appeared in a game since March 27, 2021, because of a knee injury. He played four games with the Knights in 2019.

Bischoff is on an American Hockey League contract, so he would need an NHL deal to make the opening-night roster. The Knights also could fill that spot by coming to an agreement with Hague.

“We’re all talking to him,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “He’s a big part of our team. He played a lot of really good hockey for us last year.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.