Hagel traded to Lightning by Blackhawks

The Blackhawks received forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, and two conditional first-round picks for Hagel, a 23-year-old forward. The Lightning also received a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and 2024 draft.

Hagel has two seasons remaining on a three-year, $4.5 million contract ($1.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Blackhawks on Aug. 6, 2021. He can become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season.

In his second full NHL season, Hagel has scored 37 points (21 goals, 16 assists) in 55 games. He scored 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 52 games as a rookie last season.

“Brandon’s really turned himself into a very valuable player for us and I think everyone else recognizes that too,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said March 4. “He’s a bona fide NHL player that has some very, very desirable attributes and his age also makes him a desirable player to us, to many other teams that are not just contending for the Stanley Cup but also desirable to them as well.”

Daily Faceoff had reported that if the Blackhawks traded Hagel, they would be looking to get back a first-round pick in the NHL Draft and a top prospect.

“Seeing what they want for me, you’ve got to take it as a compliment, no?” Hagel said of the report. “Come on, I was a sixth-rounder brought in as a 20-year-old, just this kid who came and played. And they want that? I’ll take that any day.”

Hagel signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent Nov. 5, 2018 after he was passed over in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round (No. 159) of the 2016 NHL Draft but never signed.

Katchouk has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in 38 games for the Lightning in his first NHL season. The 23-year-old was selected in the second round (No. 44) of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Raddysh has scored 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 53 games of his rookie season. The 24-year-old was a second-round pick (No. 58) in the 2016 draft.