Grades: Lightning win now, Blackhawks win later in Brandon Hagel trade

The Trade

As first reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Chicago Blackhawks traded left winger Brandon Hagel and two fourth-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Tampa’s first-round pick in each of 2023 and 2024 (both of which are top-10 protected and will shift to future years if the Bolts are in a top-10 draft spot), plus forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh. Here’s my assessment of two teams that accomplished their goals in this blockbuster deal:

Tampa Bay Lightning analysis

At the 2020 trade deadline, preceding what would become Tampa Bay’s first of back-to-back Stanley Cup runs, it acquired two crucial pieces. Gritty forwards Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow were brought in and immediately teamed up with Yanni Gourde to form a formidable third line that was a perfect complement to Tampa's dynamic top six. With all three of those players since departed, the Lightning felt that the biggest missing piece to make a third Cup run was a player of that same ilk. 

Friday, they got their man in Hagel. A 20-plus goal scorer, a responsible defensive player with a strong forecheck and still just 23 years old, Hagel is a player on a meteoric rise and a terrific acquisition for Tampa. He represents enormous value for the cap-strapped Bolts, given that he has not one but two more years left on his contract at a bargain cap hit of $1.5M. If he maintains his current pace, he will be one of the highest-value players in the league for the next two seasons, and he will have an immediate impact on the Lightning’s chase for the Cup this season. 

Of course, he will be relied upon more for his two-way game than his goal scoring in Tampa, but a player with his versatility and fantastic cap hit is exactly what the Lightning needed. The price was a huge one, with two first-round picks and promising young players Katchouk and Raddysh going the other way. However, when you are looking to three-peat and your competitors are taking big swings at the deadline, you have to be willing to take a swing yourself. This one could be a home run.

Gear’s Grade: A

Chicago Blackhawks analysis

When Hagel’s name surfaced in trade rumors earlier this month, it didn’t really add up to me. For all the reasons I love the acquisition by Tampa Bay (Hagel’s youth, production and low cap hit), it didn’t seem to make sense that Chicago would move Hagel. He is the kind of player you could start to rebuild around. 

However, after seeing the haul GM Kyle Davidson was able to get for Hagel, it all makes sense.Two first-round picks are an excellent part of the return, but given those picks will likely be at the bottom of the first round (they are top-10 protected in any event), the Hawks might still not get a player of Hagel’s caliber out of either of those picks. To me, nabbing Katchouk and Raddysh may be the key to the deal. Both players are talented forwards with lots of upside. They have had difficulty cracking the stacked Bolts lineup, but both have the potential to grow into impactful NHL players. They will have lots of opportunity on the rebuilding Blackhawks. 

They both signed three-year second contracts at the league minimum, meaning they will be cheap players for Chicago for the next two seasons. That will be ample time to see if they can grow into core pieces for the Hawks. 

At the end of the day, Hagel was the right guy at the wrong time for the Blackhawks. Since he is the best player involved in the deal, I would give a slight edge to the Lightning, but projecting what the sum of the parts acquired might look like in a few years, I suspect the Hawks will be very satisfied with their exchange.

Gear’s Grade: A-