The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Brandon Hagel, a 2022 fourth-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Lightning, in exchange for forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, along with conditional first-round picks in 2023 and 2024.
While the move may not be the last for either team, it’s good to check in on how each GM did in this swap. Here are the grades for each:
The NHL is, more than anything, a copycat league. When the Lightning aggressively added Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow at the 2020 trade deadline, there was pushback from skeptics that didn’t believe they were worth the first-round picks that Tampa sent to New Jersey and San Jose, respectively.
Two Stanley Cups later, and everyone is looking for their “Blake Coleman,” and willing to ante up considerably more than they would have previously for talented depth forwards. What we didn’t expect: That the Lightning themselves would be one of them, paying what they did for Goodrow and Coleman for the services of one player: 23-year-old winger Brandon Hagel.
The first thing to love about this trade is his contract, which is the primary reason the rest of the league started taking notice of Hagel this season. He has 21 goals and 37 points in 55 games, and he’s signed to just $1.5 million against the salary cap through the 2023-24 season, after which he becomes a restricted free agent.
The Lightning are notoriously capped out — please recall the Nikita Kucherovlong-term injured reserve gambit — to the point where they don’t have any available cap space next season at the moment. Provided Hagel’s breakout season is a harbinger of things to come, that’s a ridiculous amount of cap advantage and control for GM Julien BriseBois over a talented young forward.
There are things beyond Hagel’s traditional stats that are impressive. His ability to retrieve pucks fits well into the kind of system coach Jon Cooper plays. He’s tied for seventh in the NHL in goals scored from the slot this season, with 16 of his 21 tallies coming from that spot. He outpaced his teammates in puck possession and scoring chances.
But there are a couple of reasons for concern here about Hagel. His 22.3% shooting percentage is the third highest in the NHL this season for players with at least 50 appearances. He shot 9.9% last season. His power-play shooting percentage this season is 26.7%. Sustainability is a legitimate concern. Is this the start of a burgeoning offensive star’s run, or an anomaly?
The Blake Coleman comparisons are in spirit only. Coleman helped create a dominant checking line in Tampa because he was well above average defensively. While Hagel isn’t a liability, he’s just slightly below-average defensively this season, even in comparison to his teammates. But that’s less of a concern if they cast him with defensively responsible players — like Ross Colton and Corey Perry — or in a scoring role.
Heck, we might never talk about it again if he’s averaging a point per game riding shotgun with Steven Stamkos and Kucherov.
As for cost of acquisition, here are the draft positions of the Lightning’s last six first-round picks: Nos. 32, 31, 27, 28, 14, 27. These are basically two high second-rounders going to the Blackhawks, along with Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk, neither of whom has shown the promise that Hagel has. The Lightning also pulled back two fourth-round picks.
Best of all, the picks are top-10-protected in case things go sideways for the Lightning in 2023 or 2024. And if they do, well, there are plenty of options on this roster for recovering a few first-round picks in desperation.
“I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that,” said Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson.
The Blackhawks skip this season and grab the Lightning’s first-round pick in a deep 2023 draft and in the 2024 draft. Should Tampa Bay’s 2023 first-round pick be in the top 10, Tampa will instead transfer their own, unprotected first-round pick in 2025 to Chicago. In the event both of Tampa Bay’s 2023 and 2024 picks are in the top 10, then Tampa Bay will transfer their unprotected first-round picks in 2025 and 2026 to Chicago.
I know, I know: These are likely to be low first-round picks. But they’re still first-round picks. They’re still a foot in the door, allowing Davidson to trade up rather than trade in if he desires to do so. And there are two of them, going to the Blackhawks for a player with one season of proof of concept.
Davidson had some nice things to say about Hagel. “We know that Brandon Hagel was a fan favorite — our fans loved him for all the reasons we loved him — and we know he will be successful with the Lightning,” he said, perhaps making heart hands. But if Hagel’s shooting percentage isn’t sustainable, and he ends up being just a very good offensive player with an enviable cap hit, then this trade is going to end up lopsided in Chicago’s favor.
Raddysh is a more complete player than Katchouk at this point. The former has had a strong rookie season offensively, and is seventh on the team in goals scored above average. The latter is a bit ahead defensively. Both will help as the Blackhawks rebuild.
I think there’s an argument to be made that Hagel is a “part of the solution, not the problem” guy. That keeping him in Chicago in the rebuild could have been beneficial. That he moved is an indication that the package going back was just too enticing, and that the scope of this rebuild is so immense that Hagel doesn’t fit the timeline.
Finally, let’s talk about why this is an ‘A,’ and that’s asset management.
As our own Emily Kaplan noted, Hagel was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, but after two years, they didn’t sign him to an entry-level contract. Hagel had already been to three NHL training camps — two in Buffalo, one in Montreal — but he never got as far as exhibition games. The Blackhawks signed him in 2018 and extended him on this desirable contract in 2021. And now they’ve flipped him for two first-rounders and two NHL prospects.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
