TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning signed forward Brandon Hagel to an eight-year contract extension, the team announced in a news release Tuesday.
The contract extension, which is reportedly worth an average annual value of $6.5 million, will begin with the 2024-25 season.
The 24-year-old Canada native established career highs in the 2022-23 season – his first full season with Tampa Bay. He picked up a total of 30 goals and 34 assists while scoring 64 points altogether.
Hagel ended up finishing tied for third on the Bolts for goals, according to the team. He also came in tied for fourth in scoring.
Tampa Bay picked up Hagel from Chicago back in 2022 before the trade deadline. He made his debut on the team the next day during a game against the New York Rangers.
Altogether, Hagel has been on the ice repping the Lightning for 103 regular-season games – recording 34 goals and 71 points.
Hagel joins fellow forwards Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Nick Paul, defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as players signed for at least three more seasons.
The season home opener is set for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Amalie Arena against the Nashville Predators.
The Bolts will be out on the ice for an 82-game campaign and will play their first six of nine games at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay will play all NHL teams at least twice and also teams in their division four times except Florida and Detroit. Those two specific teams will go up against the Lightning on three occasions.
The team will also face the Metropolitan Division three times each and come up against every Western Conference opponent two times — one at home and one on the road.
There will be 41 games at Amalie and another 41 away for the Bolts, including a pair of five straight home games from Oct. 19-30 and Feb. 29-March 12. On the road, Tampa Bay will have its longest stretch of five consecutive away games Dec. 7-16 and March 16-24.
10 Tampa Bay's Leo Santos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.