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Lightning sign Brandon Hagel to eight-year extension |
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The Tampa Bay Lightning successfully identified a perfect fit for their club with their move for Brandon Hagel ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.
And now they've completed a long-term commitment with that fit, with Hagel signed to an eight-year, $52 million ($6.5 million average annual value) extension beginning in 2024-25.
Hagel, who has another year remaining on his $1.5 million per year bargain of a deal, has earned this big-money extension with the Lightning after a 2022-23 campaign that included career-highs in goals (30), assists (34), points (64), and power-play points (13) in 81 games for Tampa. The left-shooting winger also set career-best marks in hits (68), blocked shots (58), shots (178), and his 18:39 of time on ice per night was also a career-high.
The 24-year-old Hagel, who was acquired from Chicago in exchange for a pair of fourth-round draft picks, a conditional first-round pick in 2023, and a first-round pick in 2024, has totaled 34 goals and 71 points in 103 games with Tampa Bay.
Once his contract extension kicks in, Hagel will be the third-highest paid forward on the Tampa roster behind Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point (both of whom have a $9.5 million AAV), and will be the sixth-highest paid on the Lightning when you factor in Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million AAV), Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million AAV), and Victor Hedman ($7.875 million AAV).
Hagel's extension will also leave the 2024 Lightning with $12.56 million in projected cap space with 14 skaters and two goaltenders on their books. That projected cap space figure does not take into account a potential (and likely) salary cap increase.
The most notable pending free agent on Tampa's books for 2024 is of course captain Steven Stamkos, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Lightning.
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