Brandon Hagel Has a Case to Be the Lightning’s Next Captain – The Hockey Writers – Tampa Bay Lightning

Time and time again, Brandon Hagel delivers in the clutch for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He had the game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 4 on Sunday night versus the Montreal Canadiens and has three multi-point games thus far in what’s been a complete turnaround from last year’s playoffs.

Hagel is starting to build his postseason resume. He leads all players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in goals with six, a ridiculous pace through four games. Most would be happy with 1.5 points per game, let alone that many goals per game.

He’s not just taking the wheel from a production standpoint. He’s not afraid to make a crucial hit. He’s not afraid to show passion and tries to draw the crowd into it. It felt fitting that he was the one to lead the comeback.

“It is coming from their heart, their soul. You talk about the progression of things that helped us during this game. I think that was a big part of it, too, being down 2-0 … you can tell if somebody was going to do it, it was going to be him,” head coach Jon Cooper said.

For now, Victor Hedman is the rightful captain of the team. As long as he’s around, that will and should remain the case. However, an heir apparent may be emerging.

“He may not wear a letter now, but eventually, he is going to,” Cooper said of Hagel’s level of leadership.

Of course, this could mean an A, which means an alternate captain. That would still be an honor, but since the time to wear a letter is in his future, it’s time to discuss his case to be captain. Maybe he’ll leapfrog the step of wearing an A to having a C sewn onto his sweater.

The Right Stuff to Be Captain

Hagel possesses the proper combination of personality and on-ice ability to lead by example. He’s already setting an example in the eyes of his head coach and his teammates. It’s not something that’s implied when reading between the lines of quotes; it’s been directly stated.

“He’s definitely been one of our leaders, and with the way he plays with all of his emotion, everything on the line on every shift, it really, really sparks our group,” Gage Goncalves said last week. “Guys that are maybe feeling nerves or anything like that, they can kind of settle into the game and build off the stuff that ‘Hagey’ does.” (From ‘Anything but ‘too small,’ Brandon Hagel making a huge playoff impact’, Tampa Bay Times, April 23, 2026).

Being a captain requires talking to officials in certain situations. There is likely trust he’ll have no trouble doing that. If he’s able to keep the team composed, he should be able to handle that task, too.

Something else can’t be understated when looking at what he does from a leadership standpoint. He may not be in the Hall of Fame conversation yet, like some of his teammates, but he’s a very good hockey player.

His overall counting stats took a step back due to missing some time this season, but Hagel is close to averaging a point per game since his first full season with the Lightning in 2022-23. He’s scored at least 30 goals in three of his last four seasons, and he’s a lock to have at least 70 points.

Hagel is also gaining further recognition for his defense and has received Frank J. Selke Trophy votes in each of the last three seasons. Last season, he finished ninth in the voting. It’s to be determined where he’ll finish this season because of his injuries, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he still received votes.

All of this sounds great, but he’s following up future Hall of Famers Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. Let’s not forget that before Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, who is in the Hall of Fame, was briefly captain.

Does Hagel have at least a chance to put up some Hall-of-Fame numbers to go with his current and previous captains? The short answer is yes. The long answer requires some math for projections.

Next year will be his age-28 season, and he’ll pick up his 400th-career point sometime in the first half of the year since he’s only 29 points away from that mark. His 200th goal could also come next season, but that would require another career high. He needs 39, and his current season-best is 36.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season, he’s averaged 31 goals and 75 points per season. By the time he’s 35, Hedman’s current age, this pace would get him to 409 career goals and 971-career points. It’s a tall task, especially reaching 500 goals, but 1,000 points can be considered realistic. Based on that, he could be in the Hall of Fame discussion in the next few years.

Hagel vs. Other Lightning Teammates

Nikita Kucherov has yet to wear the C. Brayden Point is another longtime player who is a strong candidate. There are also longtime players, such as Anthony Cirelli, and Jake Guentzel has established himself in a hurry.

There were many names discussed along with Hedman for the next Lightning captain when Stamkos left in free agency. I didn’t even name Hagel at the time as a potential alternate. Since then, Hagel has had his moments as an alternate, but only in temporary roles.

It shows that times have changed significantly. But it also shows who else could be ahead of Hagel for the honor.

If there is one player who is the most likely to get it, besides Hagel, among all of these potential options, my gut reaction is that it would be Point.

His position as a leader is undeniable, and he even gets recognition as a finalist for leadership awards. He hasn’t won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy yet, which is the award for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, but he was the runner-up last season and has received votes for the award seven times. Hagel has yet to receive votes for this award.

The longtime Lightning forward is also no stranger to coming up in the clutch. Between the regular season and the playoffs, Point has 71-career game-winning goals. During the run to the Stanley Cup in 2020, he had a strong case to win the Conn Smythe, leading the playoffs in goals scored. Hagel was only part of the run to the Final in 2022, though his contributions defensively were notable.

To bring in a counterargument in favor of Hagel, what sets Point apart from Hagel could also be to Hagel’s advantage. He may not be gentlemanly, per se, but that could be more ideal. But he’s a sparkplug, or whatever Lightning-related pun you want to throw in there.

He knows how to change the momentum, even if he has to do something that isn’t gentlemanly, and displays effective leadership that everyone rallies around. When the time ultimately comes in the next few seasons, that’s going to play a major role in deciding the next Lightning captain.