Canadiens Interested in Golden Knights' Defenseman

He has been a staple on the Golden Knights' defense. It’s no surprise that teams are showing interest in the Stanley Cup-winning rearguard.

The pending free agent is intriguing, of course because of his experience, but his age, play style and likely reasonable upcoming payday should draw interest from many general managers. 

He is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound left-shot defenseman who is the middle pairing staple, and he plays a violent game, leveraging physicality and smart defensive play to make him a coach's dream. 

He brings that cup ring that left when David Savard retired, but he also takes a spot away from Mike Matheson, or Alexandre Carrier or one of Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble.

If anything, the Canadians need a right defenseman to add to their top four. Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are approaching NHL roster-ready ready but perhaps they’re not so close? 

Hughes continues to keep his cards close and he seems to always have an ace up his sleeve. 

A trade is expected so that will answer questions. Until then, however, it raises many others. 

Hague and Xhekaj on the third pair would be scary. Such a pair could become an asset during the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Character and experience are who of the three pillars essential to creating a bona fide contender, and the team already possesses two of those traits. His arrival will address the third, triggering a domino effect throughout the defense. 

He makes perfect sense for the Canadiens, and while he isn't a right-shot, his resumé and the way he plays are more than enough reason to consider adding this behemoth defenseman to the team's defensive brigade.

If Hughes can convince Hague to play for the Canadiens and sign an extension for a good price, he will still have plenty of capital to try and acquire a right-shot defender.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in the thick of it, but the offseason presents so many other interesting storylines, especially for the Canadiens' general manager, who has his eyes on shoring up his top-six up front and the top four on the back end.