Nikita Kucherov wasn’t the only one on the ice making history Saturday night. Lightning players struck three magic numbers Saturday: 1,000, 800, and 300. Kucherov was the first to etch his name on another page in the NHL history books; he was then joined by Victor Hedman who recorded his 800th career point (followed by point No. 801) and Brandon Hagel who recorded career point No. 300 in the Lightning’s win over Anaheim.
Victor Hedman
Hedman is one of the longest-tenured members of the Lightning organization. He has been a member of the team since he was drafted back in 2009 with the 2nd overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NHL draft. He quickly found himself making his NHL debut in the same season. He skated in 74 games that season, recording four goals and 16 assists for 20 points.
The 6’7” lefty from Sweden recorded his first 40-plus point season in 2013-14 when he scored 13 goals, 42 assists, and 55 points in 75 games skated.
He began to really break out in 2016-17 when through 79 games he scored 16 goals, 56 assists, and 72 points.
In 2019-20, Hedman recorded 11 goals, 44 assists, and 55 points as the Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup championship for the first time during his tenure. They repeated in 2020-21 when Hedman recorded nine goals, 36 assists, and had 45 points.
Though they did not go on to win the cup in 2021-22, that season was the best of Hedman’s Lightning career. He scored a career-high in all columns with 20 goals, 65 assists, and 85 points.
Last season, the Lightning captain scored 15 goals on 51 assists, and 66 points.
So far this season he has yet to record a goal and he has seven assists, including Saturday night when his sixth assist of the season marked his 800th career point and his second assist of the night (seventh on the season) marked career point No. 801.
Along with his 801 career points, Hedman was the 2019-20 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient and the 2017-18 James Norris Memorial Trophy award winner.
Brandon Hagel
On the same goal that marked career point No. 800 for Hedman, Hagel was the second assist on the goal by Anthony Cirelli and for Hagel, it marked career point No. 300 to round out the trio of milestones reached by Lightning players on Saturday.
Unlike Kucherov and Hedman, Hagel did not start his career with the Lightning, but he has been with the organization since 2021 when he was traded to Tampa by Chicago during the 2022 NHL draft.
In his first full season with the organization in 2022-23, he recorded a career-high 30 goals, 34 assists, and 64 points and has continued to build upon that throughout his tenure with Tampa. In 2023-24 he improved that number to 26 goals on a career-high 49 assists for 75 points. And last season in 2024-25 Hagel scored a career-high 35 goals in 82 games skated, with a career-high in assists at 55 and points at 90 in the best season all-around during his career.
So far this season Hagel has skated in all eight games, with an average 18:08 on ice. He has not recorded a goal this season and has just three assists through eight games so far.