The Chicago Blackhawks gave up an assumed part of their future today for the promise of more to come. They traded away Brandon Hagel, a 2022 fourth-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first-round picks, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk.
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Brandon Hagel Traded
Sitting 14th in the Western Conference, everyone knew trades were going to happen for the Blackhawks. That one of them would involve 23-year-old winger Hagel is a surprise. The Buffalo Sabres sixth-round draft pick in 2016 never signed with that team, rather going to free agency. He eventually did sign with the Blackhawks in 2018, playing one game for them in the 2019-20 season. The next year he found a spot in Chicago, scoring nine times in 52 NHL games, primarily on the fourth line.
This season his ice time has increased and his production has followed. So far this year he’s been a Cy Young challenger, with 21 goals and 37 points in just 55 games. His most frequent linemates have been Patrick Kane and either Dylan Strome or Jonathan Toews. Just how much that has influenced his numbers this season is almost moot, depending on who his new linemates are. Hegel is in the first of a three-year deal with a $1.5 million cap hit.
The return from Tampa Bay isn’t small, either. Just how long the Lightning can live up to their name is going to be a challenge.
What This Means
If Brandon Hagel can maintain anything like his current production level, then the Lightning will be a danger for each of the next three years. He joins an already exceptionally deep forward group, and won’t be relied on as heavily to score there.
Tampa Bay is now famous for bringing in a depth player to fill their forward ranks, and this is no exception. Barclay Goodrow came in 2020 and was later sold for a seventh-round pick. In 202o it was Blake Coleman, who was allowed to walk to the Calgary Flames as a free agent. They moved first-round picks in each of those deals but also won the Stanley Cup twice. The cost for Hagel seems high, but a “stupid move” that works isn’t stupid.
Chicago, of course, is looking to the future in a big way, and moving a younger player is simply what it costs them to rebuild. Given Tampa’s cap troubles, it’s no surprise to see a large return.
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