As the potential sign-and-trade of Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights sits in limbo, one potential player the Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly close to getting in the trade, has been moved to the Nashville Predators instead.
In the early hours of Monday morning, the Golden Knights reportedly traded defenseman Nic Hague to the Nashville Predators for a package of defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and forward Colton Sissons. Hague, a gigantic 26-year-old blueliner with a mean streak and a pending restricted free agent -- who promptly signed a sizeable deal with Nashville following the reported deal -- was reportedly someone the Maple Leafs were asking for from Vegas in the sign-and-trade deal for Mitch Marner.
Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons going back to Vegas in trade for Nic Hague. https://t.co/fTtJAKUEE9
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 30, 2025
The sign-and-trade agreement could happen any minute now, as we are just over 24 hours away from the opening of free agency at the time of writing, but the Maple Leafs certainly will not be getting Hague back in the deal.
One player that is still actually on the Golden Knights roster who the Leafs have also reportedly asked for is 28-year-old center Nicolas Roy. The forward from Amos, Quebec has steadily become one of the most dependable and consistent depth centers in the league. Since becoming a full-time NHLer in the 2021-22 season, Roy has averaged 15 goals and 37 points in a season, but there isn't some breakout year in that time span. The lowest his production has gone is 14 goals and 30 points, and the peak was the 2023-24 season with 13 goals and 41 points. You know exactly what you are getting with Roy and the Leafs will be able to keep him around as cheap depth.
Roy is signed for two more years with a $3-million AAV and for a 35-point third-line center that is excellent defensively, that feels like a very fair price to pay.
The sign-and-trade has not been made official and it is still uncertain if it gets done before the opening of free agency on Tuesday, but to get anything in return for Marner, who is certainly walking away from Toronto no matter what, would be a positive.
It's going to be an interesting few days in Leafsland.