TAMPA, FL. – The Lightning, who have played very well for the most part, but have paid the price for taking too many penalties in losing five of their last seven, had both Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul in the lineup for a 3-2 loss at Carolina on Tuesday night.
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois was indeed busy at the trade deadline and appears to have once again bolstered a team that has every intention of making a run at a third consecutive Stanley Cup.
Things worked out very well in 2020 with the acquisition of forward Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, and last year with the addition of defenseman David Savard. This time around, Hagel, who was acquired from Chicago on Friday and made his Tampa Bay debut Sunday against the Rangers, and Nick Paul, acquired from Ottawa on Sunday, could very well play key roles in helping their new team play well into June.
In the larger picture, Hagel is somebody Lightning fans could see at Amalie Arena for the next few years.
Worth the price: BriseBois described Hagel as a “Swiss Army knife-type player” given the 23-year-old’s ability to play center, both wings and be used in all situations. He had 21 goals in 55 games with the Blackhawks this season, which underscores the notable progress he has in both ends of the rink. The Lightning became familiar with Hagel when they shared a division with the Blackhawks during last season’s restructured league alignment.
“When we are evaluating a player, it is the quality of the player, the quality of the person and the quality of the contract,” said BriseBois. “Obviously, Brandon Hagel checks all three boxes, which is why we were willing to pay the premium we did to acquire his services.”
The Lightning parted ways with rookie forwards Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk as well as first-round picks in 2023 and 2024. BriseBois felt the price was more than worth it, especially given Hagel has four seasons of team control. He has a cap hit of $1.5 million.
Salary cap maneuvers: A big body that fits right into the Lightning’s DNA, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Paul had 11 goals with Ottawa. He added to his career-high total when he picked up his 12th in his Bolts debut against the ‘Canes.
The 27-year-old, who broke in with the Senators in 2015-16, is another versatile player who is strong in both ends of the rink. The key behind Paul coming on board is that the Sens are paying 44.5 percent of his $1.35 million salary, which greatly helps the cause as the Lightning have no salary cap space to work with. Forward Mathieu Joseph, who was drafted by the Lightning in 2015 and has a pair of Cup rings, was sent to Ottawa.
Familiar face: Forward Riley Nash was re-acquired at Monday’s deadline from Arizona for future considerations and sent to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Nash started the season with Winnipeg, was claimed off waivers by the Lightning in early December and played 10 games for Tampa Bay before being waived in early January. Nash, who could be depth piece come playoff time, was claimed by Arizona, which waived him Monday. The 32-year-old has four assists in 49 games.
Scoring drought: The Lightning have scored 15 goals in their last seven games. They have scored four goals twice, but two or less in the five other games. They went through an eight-game stretch last season (March 23-April 4) when they scored no more than three goals and totaled 17 while going 3-4-0.
April at Amalie: By the time the Lightning’s current four-game trip, which resumes Thursday night in Boston, concludes, they will have played 10 of 11 on the road. They return to Amalie next Tuesday to face the ‘Canes in the first of four straight at home, and five of six. Looking ahead to April, the Lightning will play 11 of their 16 games in the friendly confines with the Maple Leafs (twice) and Bruins among teams coming to town.
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