Predators Announce New Defenseman's Injury Timeline

"New Predators defenseman Nic Hague will miss 4-6 weeks with an injury suffered in Sunday's preseason game. Expected to miss the first month of the regular season. He had been paired with Roman Josi and played well early."

This was Hague's first game with Predators since being acquired just days after the 2025 NHL Draft. Hague had played 11 playoff games with the Vegas Golden Knights but was still without a contract.

Vegas received forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Zachary Lauzon in the trade, and the Predators subsequently signed Hague to a four-year, $22 million deal. Nashville coveted the big, bruising defenseman, who was a part of the 2022-23 Vegas Cup-winning brigade.

“Shortly after supplying our prospect pipeline with several talented players at this weekend’s NHL Draft, we feel we’ve made our team better and younger with this trade,” Predators general manager Barry Trotz told NHL.com. “Nicolas’ profile as a defenseman is one that teams around the NHL covet -- big and physical with strong skating ability. By signing him for four years, he will play an integral role in shaping our blue line not only now, but in the future.”

It's no doubt a setback for the Predators' blueline, and especially for a veteran roster that disappointed last year, ending the season seventh in the Central Division, and with the third fewest points (68) in the entire Western Conference.

Without Hague in the lineup, the Predators might have to lean on one of their younger guys to move up in the lineup. Though he isn't a big scoring threat, his stout and rugged defense play will be missed.

Hague is heading into his seventh NHL season, and has registered 20 goals and 63 assists over 364 games, all spent with the Golden Knights, who drafted him 34th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.