TRAIKOS: Lightning continue to play Moneypuck by trading two first-rounders for a chance at another Cup

Article content

The bar has been set.

Article content

Well, sort of.

Days before the deadline, the Tampa Bay Lightning felt shockwaves throughout the hockey world by giving up two first-round picks and a couple of up-and-coming forwards for a chance at a third straight Stanley Cup.

For that price, you’d think they just landed Claude Giroux — and also Mark Giordano. It turns out they didn’t even get one of them.

Instead, the Lightning acquired a third-line winger named Brandon Hagel.

Hagel is not Giroux. But more importantly, neither is he paid like him. A sixth-round pick of the Sabers in 2016, Hagel went unsigned and had tried-and-failed at three training camps with two different NHL teams before the Blackhawks gave him a minor-league deal in 2018. After scoring nine goals last year as a rookie, Hagel has been enjoying a breakout sophomore season with 21 goals and 37 points in 55 games.

Article content

Of course, his best stat might be the one that is preceded by a dollar sign.

The 23-year-old winger, who is signed for another two years, has a cap hit of $1.5-million. He’s also a restricted fee agent after that. In other words, this is not your typical rental. Neither is this your typical trade deadline acquisition — unless, of course, you’re Julien BriseBois, who once again is making the shrewd kind of moves that won him back-to-back championships.

“Obviously, we’re always looking for ways to improve our odds of winning a championship,” BriseBois told reporters on Friday. “We feel that he not only improves our odds of winning a championship for this season, but also the next two seasons because he’s under contract for two more years. And the terms of his contract with him are providing the club with really good value.

Article content

This is how you stay competitive in a cap world. This is how you play the system.

This is yet another example of Moneypuck, Tampa style.

The team with all the talent has it all figured it out. And it’s not just the tax breaks that have benefitted the Lightning. Sure, being able to afford Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy for $5-million less than what the Leafs are paying their $40-million four certainly helps. But it’s more than that.

Cost certainty matters. Especially when you’re winning Cups and having to hand out raises after every season.

The Lightning have only three players who are pending unrestricted free agents after this season. One is a backup goalie, the other is a third-pairing defenseman, and the third is Ondrej Palat. The rest of this roster isn’t going anywhere.

Article content

Neither are the Lightning, who have been the team to beat in the NHL for quite some time now. With the fourth-best record in the league, that’s not something that’s about to change anytime soon. The team already has the best goalie and arguably the best defenseman, along with one of the most potent offenses. On Friday, they worked at their depth.

Think of Hagel as a Michael Bunting. Or, as Tampa Bay is hoping, another Yanni Gourde, who was lost in the expansion draft.

Speaking of the draft, the Lightning had seven chances to select Hagel in 2016. Instead, six years later, they traded two fourth-liners who had been selected ahead of Hagel — Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh — in the package for the late-bloomer . Call it an extreme overpay. But with the salary cap looking like it’s going to remain flat for the next while, don’t be surprised if it starts a trend.

Article content

Two years ago, Tampa Bay traded a pair of first-round picks in exchange for Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow, simply because both had years remaining on their cap-friendly contracts. That extra year kept the best third line in the NHL intact, and may have been the reason why the team was able to repeat as champions.

Then again, it didn’t hurt that Nikita Kucherov sat out all of last year with an injury that somehow completely healed on Day 1 of the playoffs. That season-long absence, which Brisebois described as “sometimes the stars align for you,” essentially saved the team $9.5-million, which it used on acquiring defenseman David Savard.

Now, they’re set for the next several years with Hagel, who is under club control for five seasons. Along with Corey Perry and Ross Colton, who are both signed for another year at a combined $2.125-million, Hagel will try to replicate what Tampa Bay had in Coleman, Goodrow and Gourde.

“We’re adding a 23-year-old player that is super competitive, can play in all types of situations, with all different types of players,” said BriseBois, who became aware of Hagel last season, when Tampa Bay and Chicago were playing in the same division.

It’s safe to say he became an even bigger fan after seeing how much Hagel was making.