Lightning Coach Jon Cooper Cannot Have ‘20 Brandon Hagels,’ But One Is Pretty Good

Following his team’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins last Thursday evening, Jon Cooper stated how he wished he “had 20 Brandon Hagels.”

That is understandable because No. 38 in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform was on a tear with 10 goals and 14 points in seven games. As impressive as it was, the scoring spree was hardly a surprise. After all, Hagel scored 30 goals in 2022-23, his first full season with the Bolts, and really took off last season when he recorded career bests with 35 goals and 90 points without sacrificing defensive responsibilities, including his outstanding work on the penalty kill.

There were a couple of lapses against the Penguins, though. One, about eight minutes into the second period, ended up on the stick of Evgeni Malkin. The 39-year-old had more than half the ice to himself before depositing the 521^st goal of his hall of fame career between the pads of Jonas Johansson, who probably had his heart in his throat at the sight of No. 71 racing toward him like an approaching storm.

Cooper saw enough. Hagel’s lone shift the remainder of the period was on the PK.

It was not so much that Hagel was charged with four giveaways before the game reached its midpoint, but at least a couple were of the glaring variety, including the aforementioned holiday gift to Malkin. Ever the professional, Hagel knew it was not his finest moment.

“At the end of the day, if you’re going to turn the puck over and give up easy goals, you’re probably not bound to win,” said the 27-year-old out of Saskatoon, Sask. “So, I take accountability for that. Obviously, that’s not the recipe to win.”

To absolutely nobody’s surprise at Benchmark International Arena, and certainly not his coach’s, Hagel responded in helping lift his team out of 3-0 hole by scoring twice in the third period to tie the game.

After the Pens went ahead with 2:43 remaining, it appeared as though Hagel had a three-point evening by assisting on Nikita Kucherov’s apparent game-tying goal with 56 seconds remaining. A video review concluded that Hagel’s reflexive action in deflecting a clearing attempt away from his upper body was a hand pass, and the goal was waved off. The Pens held on, 4-3. It was the first time in 12 games this season that Hagel scored and the Lightning lost.

(The integrity of the game is in question if four officials do not make a call on the ice, but is made following a frame-by-frame video review elsewhere. It is a rule in need of revision.)

In the larger picture of an 82-game season, it was how Hagel responded to the benching.

“I’ve been here a long time and have coached him on multiple different teams, and he’s a gamer,” said Cooper, who coached Hagel with Team Canada in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off. “That’s a challenge to a player, and it was accepted.”

Surging career

The fact Hagel was part of Team Canada is a testament to the player he has developed into since being acquired from the Blackhawks at the 2022 trade deadline. He became part of a team seeking a third straight Stanley Cup and part of a room boasting the likes of captain Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Ryan McDonagh and Aelx Killorn.

“When he came here, we had all these star players that had won the Cup and been in here for a long time,” general manager Julien BriseBois said at last season’s midpoint. “Now, he is that guy. He is that guy others look to for leadership. He is that guy we expect to turn the tide when we need it to be turned.”

None of Hagel’s 35 goals last season came on the power play, which set an all-time NHL mark for most goals in a season without one coming with the man advantage. Winnipeg’s Doug Smail had 31 in 1984-85. Thirty-two of the goals were at even strength, good for fifth in the league. He had three goals and four assists while teaming with Anthony Cirelli (four SHG) on a formidable penalty kill unit.

“He was a really good penalty killer when we got him, and he is an elite penalty killer now,” said BriseBois.

Hagel, who had 11 assists on the man advantage last season, has a pair of power play goals this season. Through 27 games he was 17-12-29 and plus-14, which was the best among Tampa Bay forwards.

While battling through the injury bug, the Lightning had a seven-game win streak that, not surprisingly, coincided with Hagel’s hot stretch. It has been a challenging time for the Bolts, who have been playing without blue liners Hedman, McDonagh and Erik Cernak as well as forward Brayden Point. The past couple of games they have to make do without Kucherov and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. They have had to rely on several players from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse, and it is leaders like Hagel who have made sure the vessel continues to steer smoothly.

“We have been playing great with a lot of guys coming up, filling in some big roles, buying into the system,” he said following a 4-1 win at MSG against the Rangers last Monday. “There is a lot of time left, and you are going to run into streaks and without a doubt you’re going to run into adversity down the road. If you continue to buy into the system and do what works, you will have success.”

Hagel has done that since the day he arrived.