(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

When the Golden Knights completed the trade that sent Nic Hague to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon, it was assumed both of the new guys would step right into the starting lineup.

Lauzon missed the second half of last season with an injury, but has played 146 games in the previous two seasons, posted nearly 18 minutes of ice time a night, and led the NHL in hits in 23-24. Lauzon carries a $2 million AAV cap hit and fills a “need” the Golden Knights lacked last season.

A comment by general manager Kelly McCrimmon to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun indicates Lauzon’s place as the 3rd pair left defenseman may not be as set in stone as one may think.

On our blue line, we look for Kaedan Korczak to become an everyday player. I think Ben Hutton has a lot more to give than people realize. We think he’s a good player. And we’ve got some really good players above those guys. –McCrimmon to The Athletic

Hutton played just 11 games last season, has played only 179 in the past five seasons combined (an average of 36 per season), and has been used in just three playoff games for a total of 41 minutes in VGK’s last 39 playoff games.

Hutton has been the ideal 7th defenseman for the Golden Knights for a variety of reasons, none more important than his personality. He’s shown an ability to step right into games despite long layoffs and has a surprising amount of offensive upside when he does get in there. However, Bruce Cassidy has pretty much always gone a different route when given the option of Hutton against someone else.

Kaedan Korczak, Brayden Pachal, Daniil Miromanov, and Dylan Coghlan (who is back on the roster now) have all gotten the nod over Hutton at different points. This vote of confidence from McCrimmon may be a signal that the team plans on using Hutton straight out of the gates.

It’s certainly possible the comment is a hedge against the possibility of Lauzon not having overcome his injury yet, but the way Hutton’s name is dropped out of the blue reads more like McCrimmon believes he’s the first option.

Either way, there aren’t many training camp battles heading into the 2025-26 season. Aside from where all the locked-in starters land in the lineup, the fight for the final spot on the blue line may be the most important decision that must be made before October 9th.