The Tampa Bay Lightning and vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced that they have signed forward Brandon Hagel to an eight-year contract extension that is worth $6.5 million per year.

Brandon Hagel's contract extension will begin in the 2024-2025 season. The extension comes after a breakout 2022-2023 campaign.

Hagel put up a career high in goals with 30 and career high in points with 64 in 2022-2023, playing in 81 games, according to Hockey Reference.

The Lightning are betting on Hagel to be a big part of their future. With the core of their team getting older, Hagel will be a key player to help the Lightning remain contenders. He is just 24 years old, so he has a long career in front of him with the hope of becoming an even better player as his extension kicks in for the 2024-2025 season.

The Lightning acquired Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks in March of 2022 ahead of the trade deadline, and has been a key member of the team since then. He was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round in 2016. He eventually moved from the Sabres organization to the Blackhawks, where he made his debut with Chicago in March of 2020.

Hagel never got consistent playing time before joining the Lightning, but it appears that Tampa Bay has found a long-term piece with him. The extension shows the belief that the organization has in him as a core player for the long-term. It will be interesting to see if he can build off of his successful 2022-2023 season in 2023-2024.