Three Lightning Players Due for Increased Roles in 2022-23.

2. Brandon Hagel

When Brandon Hagel landed in Tampa Bay prior to the trade deadline this season, he landed in a much different situation from where he came from with Chicago.  While it was nice to find himself on a contending team, he was no longer able to play on the opposite wing of Patrick Kane.

No longer a top line player, Hagel found himself in more of a checking role further down the lineup. Hagel was an effective player in this sort of role, but his potential went rather untapped in his time with the Lightning, especially in the playoffs. A big part of that was the broken foot he sustained blocking a shot in round two against Florida.

There is reason to believe that with increased opportunity further up in the lineup with Tampa Bay, that Hagel can post similar numbers to the 21 goals in 55 games with Chicago. With Ondrej Palat no longer around, Hagel is one who could draw consideration to take the left wing spot opposite of Nikita Kucherov on the Lightning’s top line.