Bolts lock up Hagel on another long-term deal

The Tampa Bay Lightning locked up another big piece of its core Tuesday morning when the team announced an eight-year contract extension for Brandon Hagel, who is now under contract with the Bolts through the end of the 2031-32 season.

Hagel's new deal carries an average annual value of $6.5 million and will kick in at the start of the 2024-25 campaign. For the upcoming season, he will play out the final year of his current contract and count for just $1.5 million against the salary cap. With the stress of earning a new deal behind him, the tenacious winger is looking forward to getting on the ice and doing everything he can to bring another Stanley Cup to Tampa.

"I was just coming back a little bit early, skating, working out, and getting comfortable again because I knew this was a big year," Hagel explained. "Lucky enough, I came down and we got to talking and this is kind of what happens. And here we are.

"Obviously, you go into a season like this and a lot of things are going on in your mind. You'd be crazy if you said you never thought about the deal throughout the year, so I'm grateful we were able to get it done now. Now we just move on and worry about winning and getting our team to that next level.

"I'm excited. I can breathe. It went smoothly. Like I said, it happened so quickly and I was happy with what was given to me. A lot went into it.

"You think about how this brings me to about 34 years old, so you've got to think that I'm going to be starting a family in Tampa and stuff like that. Everything goes down the line like that. Like you said, I think [I can take a] big deep breath, get this over, go play hockey and try to win a Stanley Cup in Tampa."

In his first full season with the Lightning in 2022-23, Hagel took his game to a new level and became just the 11th player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a single campaign. Leading the team with a +23 plus/minus rating, Hagel's 30 goals were tied with Nikita Kucherov for the third-most among Tampa Bay skaters, while his 64 points were tied with Mikhail Sergachev and Alex Killorn for the fourth-most on the team.

But Hagel's game went far beyond the scoresheet. The speedy, versatile forward showed his value up and down the lineup, whether that was skating on the top line with Kucherov and Brayden Point or working on a shutdown line with Killorn and Anthony Cirelli. Relentless on the forecheck, Hagel finished the year with 92 takeaways, the second-most among all NHL skaters and the most in a single season in Lightning franchise history.

"I think that's maybe a big part of my contract," Hagel shared. "Do I see myself always, every single year, putting up these crazy numbers and doing that stuff? I mean, [that's] great if that does happen, but at the same time, I know that I can go out there and shut top lines down, play that type of role, and feel good about that type of role.

"But I also believe I can play up there with those skilled guys, so I think that was obviously a really big part of the contract I got, to be honest."

Along with his one-ice success last season, Hagel found himself loving life in Tampa. From the warm winters to the relationships developed with teammates, it was clear to him that this was where he wanted to be long term.

"I think this is home," Hagel said. "I've felt comfortable. I love the guys here. I love the core that they have for the next however many years.

"I want to jump on that core and I want to win a lot and I think this is the place to do it. And living in Tampa, you can't complain."

Now that the ink has dried and Hagel is set to be a Bolt for the next nine seasons, there's only one thing left to do - play hockey. Certainly, there will be pressure. All professional athletes face it. But, for Hagel, that pressure is nothing new. After getting drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, the Morinville, Alberta native went unsigned and entered his final year of junior hockey in the WHL wondering what the future held.

He was then signed by the Chicago Blackhawks in October of 2018 and went on to record 102 points in 66 games with the Red Deer Rebels, scoring 41 goals and adding 61 assists. Hagel still holds the Rebels franchise record with 189 career helpers.

After working his way from the AHL to the NHL, Hagel scored 21 goals in 55 games with Chicago in 2021-22 and was traded to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. Playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, he helped the Bolts earn a third-straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. The following year, he set career highs in nearly every statistical category to earn his new contract.

"Five years ago, I was playing my 20-year-old year in junior without a contract and not sure if I'll ever get one to the NHL," said Hagel. "Five years later, I'm signing a deal that's going to change my life and I get to call a place home.

"It feels nice. It feels like I got to a point where I proved a lot of people wrong, people that didn't believe in me. Now I've got this and I'm happy.

"I'm happy where I'm at. I'm happy with the city. I'm happy with the team. The ownership and everything around this organization is incredible and now I just get to go out there, play hockey, and enjoy my life."

With the extension, Hagel becomes the eighth player on Tampa Bay's roster currently under contract beyond the 2025-26 season, joining Erik Cernak, Cirelli, Kucherov, Nick Paul, Point, Mikhail Sergachev, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. With a young core intact for the long haul, Hagel feels "really confident" that the Lightning will be heavily competitive for years to come.

"You can't be more confident in the group when every year you just see guys getting better," Hagel said. "You see Pointer scoring 50 last year. He just keeps getting better. You've got Cirelli, Kuch, Vasy, Sergy. Go down the list.

"These guys are just getting better and just getting into their prime, so I couldn't be more excited for the future as well as starting now.

"We're here already. It's been a couple weeks now. There's over a month away and you have guys in town already skating, working out every day, and getting together as a group. That just says it there, how excited everyone is to get back."