The Blackhawks made their first major move Friday ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline trading Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a package of first-round picks and young players.
The trade was controversial, and fans either loved it or they hated it with no real middle ground. For one group, the haul for Hagel seems like a lot, and collecting first-round picks is considered an excellent way to jump start a rebuild, and they got some young reclamation project players as a bonus. For the other group, Hagel is the type of player that a team should keep when rebuilding since he’s a young, fast, skilled player that’s good in the locker room.