Revisiting the Brandon Hagel Trade.
It has been almost 3 months since the Blackhawks traded Brandon Hagel and two 4th round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, and two Top-10 protected 1st round picks.
While it may have hurt to see a fan favorite go, the Hawks won this trade by a mile turning a bottom 6 forward into two similar young NHL ready players and two first round picks. Hagel was in the midst of a career year after spending the most TOI with Kane and then Toews of anyone on the time. He filled the Andrew Shaw hardworking beneficiary role very well, but unlike those Cup teams Shaw was on, this years squad was a bottom feeder giving Hagel inflated stats and TOI as seen since his transition to Tampa. He recorded an impressive 21 goals and 37 points in 55 games before the trade, but was shooting an unrealistic 22.3% shooting percentage (For reference Alex Ovechkin's career high shooting percentage in a season is 15.4%) which was more than double his shooting percentage from the previous year of 9.9%. That alone should be why this trade should sting less for Hawks fan because while Hagel is a great personality, his scoring numbers were simply unsustainable and GM Kyle Davidson brought back a haul for him.
For a team that just gave up two first round picks the previous summer, Davidson brought two (2023 and 2024) back in his first major move with the team. While the picks are top-10 protected, it is unlikely the wheels fall off the 2x Stanley Cup champs who on their way for a possible third in a row. But if they were then the picks would become unprotected in the following years draft. They will most likely be in the 20's in term of round number, but the extra draft capital allows Davidson to restock the prospect cupboard or package them to move up and select the prospect they believe in the most. It feels good to be on the other side of a Trade Deadline overpay for a change as the two firsts alone make this move worth it.
As for the two players the Blackhawks got back, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk, they both have looked solid since joining the team. Raddysh has been the more impressive of the two, racking up 10 points in 21 games and seems most likely to fill the spot Hagel left over the next few season in the middle 6 forwards. Katchouk only tallied one goal in his 21 games, but while the offense wasn't there he was solid in his all around game and should get a solid chance in the bottom 6 next season. Both have one year remaining at 758k and will be restrict free agents next summer. While they both look like line up regulars for next season, I do have to mention that they were both members of the 2018 U20 Canadian WJC team that is currently involved in a lawsuit involving sexual assault. While neither player has been confirmed to be one of the eight being sued, the NHL is also investigating and released a statement that action could be taken against players involved that are currently in the league.
| POLL | ||
Do you agree that Davidson won the Hagel trade? | ||
| Yes it was an absolute steal! | 98 | 48.8 % |
| No I want to rebuild the team around a 3rd liner! | 29 | 14.4 % |
| Yes, but I will miss the Bagel! | 74 | 36.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
