Lightning were the only team that could trade for Brandon Hagel

The price on Brandon Hagel was astronomical, but the Lightning players have earned the asset dump after back-to-back championships.

Video Transcript

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: But let's move on to the other big deal. And you touched on it. Brandon Hagel going to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first round picks. Chicago Blackhawks getting two first round picks for a guy who doesn't project to be a top front line scorer in any sense of the word. But does what Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman and Yanni Gourde have done for the Tampa Bay Lightning previously, which is provide really solid middle six contributions.

The expectation is that he should do that for this postseason run, but also for the next two seasons, as the guy locked up into a very, very modest contract that really benefits the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are up against it. Like many of the teams that are showing serious ambition here. Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh also going to Chicago as part of that deal.

So like, a coup for the Chicago Blackhawks, really. Brandon Hagel didn't fit their plans. His best seasons are probably right ahead of him here. And Chicago is not going to be competing for a little while.

So to get two former high draft picks from Tampa, that could probably step in and play pretty well for that team. And have, I think we've seen a little bit of both of them this year. But two first round picks for a player who was kind of just found money. It's a pretty impressive deal for Chicago.

And I'm not saying it's a bad deal for Tampa because they are in every position to do this. This is all about embracing the here and now. You have free roles at the table as long as Stamkos, Kucherov, have point. Hedman and Vasilevskiy are playing for your team and are playing at the height of their careers. As long as those guys are around, you go for it every single time.

So kudos to them for going out and getting what they think they need and a guy who could be a difference maker. But also just Chicago for getting a bounty for a guy who was barely on the radars of a lot of casual fans before this season.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: He's was like making under, like, two million for, like, the next few seasons. Yes, I understand that he's under a controllable contract. But this is also a guy who's just, like, a good depth forward. And I understand the Lightning have done well with those types of players. And just as I mentioned before, you need them to get through in a postseason run.

But man, the first thing I thought of what I saw that trade is, there is some GM out there who is all like, man, I really want to be Tampa. And if Tampa does this, then I'm going to throw out two first round picks for a top nine forward at some point in my general managerial tenure. Like, some GM is going to copycat Julien BriseBois and that deal is not going to work out the way that they think it will work out.

The only reason why it works out for the Tampa Bay Lightning is, like, the way they value those first rounds is not the same as so many other teams in the National Hockey League. The Lightning are expected to compete every year. They're expected to go on a deep run in the playoffs every year.

They're a team that that first round pick should be no higher than 29th if everything goes right. And 29th is even selling them a bit short. This could be a team that could very easily go back to the Stanley Cup Final with the pieces they have at forward, defense, and in goaltending. As long as you have Andrei Vasilevskiy, you have the, ultimately, the great equalizer in any series that you play, especially if it goes to game 7.

So a guy like Brandon Hagel could fit in that Tampa Bay Lightning locker room and on the ice as well. And while they did have to give up prospects and picks for him, it's a bit-- I think it's a bit much, personally. For a team like Tampa, they totally justify it in the fact that the rest of the team is loaded, and they at least get a decent player, who's getting better who's on a-- I forget how many years he signed for but he is--

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Two more after this, I think.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: --but he's on a really cheap deal. And they could make the most out of this player.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, if any other team did it, it's blasphemous, right? But the Tampa Bay lightning, who have all the reason, like, they have all the excuse in the world. If it blows up in their face, well, we got two Stanley Cups, so whatever. But they also-- good teams, they trust that they can get gems in the second, third, fourth, fifth rounds.

And Tampa has shown a penchant for being able to get decent players in every draft. It doesn't really matter where they are drafting, they're going to get good players. And that's what they trust themselves to do. On the flip side, you know, I meant to say this with Florida and Giroux, like, how many first round picks have the Florida Panthers spent the last time they won a postseason series?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't know.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: 25?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't know.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Between 25 and 30, something like that?

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't remember the number.

JUSTIN CUTHBERT: You don't miss-- you're not-- like, those things didn't do anything for you. Like, you're not-- you don't miss in those. They didn't pay off in any single way. So to suggest that the best Panthers team in history should clutch at their first round picks that they've not been able to historically use to parlay themselves into anything over generations of this team, is silly.

They have every reason to go after it as well. And Tampa, which has proven to themselves that they can get good players regardless of where they pick, they should be unfazed as well. For more reasons than the fact that they just won two Stanley Cups. So--