Two years after trading Hagel to Tampa Bay, the return is going to start to pay off in a big way for the Blackhawks.

Just over two years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It seemed like a questionable deal as the high-energy, popular Hagel was only 23 years old and seemed to have a lot of upside. 

The trade, on March 18, 2022, also signaled the beginning of the breakdown of the Blackhawks' roster and a total rebuild.

Hagel was sent to the Lightning in the first year of a three-year, $1.5 million AAV deal, an amazing price considering how he has contributed to Tampa Bay. The former WHL forward has 59 goals and 85 assists for 144 points in 183 games with the Lightning.

The full trade was:

Chicago received - Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, 2023 first-round pick (Oliver Moore), 2024 first-round pick.

Tampa Bay received - Brandon Hagel, 2022 fourth-round pick (Kenny Connors), 2024 fourth-round pick.

Chicago thought its turnaround might be much longer back in 2022, but in May 2023 the Blackhawks won the NHL Draft Lottery and the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. That should accelerate the Blackhawks' rebuild. Now the return for Hagel is looking like it will be a good one.

Yes, a player like Hagel might help Bedard and Philip Kurashev on the Chicago's top line right now as the scrappy former Red Deer Rebel continues to grow his offensive abilities. But the Blackhawks aren't close to being a winning team yet.

There's also no guarantee that Hagel would have signed a long-term contract with the Blackhawks, as he did with the Lightning last August. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native agreed to an eight-year, $52 million deal in Tampa Bay; something like that might not have fit in with Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson's plans or long-range budget projections.

Hagel has found scoring and success playing beside elite talent on the Lightning. Points would have been harder to come by in Chicago these past couple of seasons.

Speedy Moore Is The Prize

Now, the prize of this return at the moment is Moore, who is the top ranked prospect for the Blackhawks per THN's 2024 Future Watch. He projects to be a top-six player in the NHL and competes. His drive and motivation should take him far. 

Moore just finished a solid freshman year at University of Minnesota this season, scoring nine goals and 33 points in 39 games. He and defenseman and No. 4 Blackhawks prospect Sam Rinzel will return to the Gophers next season. Moore definitely fits the timetable to join Chicago as it expects to climb.

Taylor Raddysh's story this season is unfortunate. In a contract year, the 26-year-old has struggled mightily to produce offensively. A former second-round pick, Raddysh had a breakout season in 2022-23 for the Blackhawks, scoring 20 goals and 37 points in 78 games. This season those numbers have dropped to just five goals and 14 points in 72 games.

Raddysh's ice time isn't even down more than a minute from last season, but he also hasn't scored a goal since Dec. 14. That's 43 games without a goal and just seven assists. He was looking like a nice complementary piece on the Blackhawks until things took a big turn. Now he's been a healthy scratch for a few games.

Part of the problem is that Raddysh might have relied on the power play a little too much to get points, and when those points didn't come this season, he was taken off. Fifteen of his 37 points last season came on the man advantage and his power-play time this season has been nearly cut in half. Instead, he has been deployed for over 100 minutes on the penalty kill, where coach Luke Richardson like his work most of the time.

Katchouk turned out to just be a depth player on Chicago, but at the time of the trade, he was 23 years old and still had potential. He is also a former second-round pick and played 117 games for the Blackhawks, scoring 11 goals and 26 points before being claimed off of waivers by the Ottawa Senators on March 8, 2024.

A 2024 First-Round Pick

What the Blackhawks are still waiting for is the first-round pick from Tampa Bay in 2024, and the earlier the Lightning get eliminated in the playoffs this season the better. Davidson and his staff haven't missed very often with high picks in recent years, so this player could have true potential.

The payoff for Hagel is about to become great for the Blackhawks with Moore shining, plus whoever the team gets with the first-round pick this year. 

While many would say that the Lightning won the trade by just looking at Hagel's offensive numbers. Chicago and Tampa Bay are in very different places. 

The trade has paid off for the Lightning by getting them a cheap top-six player while the team chases Stanley Cups.  It also got the Blackhawks a top prospect that aligns with their timetable, plus another first-round pick this summer, and Raddysh isn't done with the Blackhawks yet as he's a RFA. 

But the true winner of the trade might not be settled for many years.

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