Anything but ‘too small,' Brandon Hagel making a huge playoff impact

MONTREAL - Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel is officially listed at 6-foot-2, and if you've ever stood next to him, you know that's a bit generous.

But maybe it's just a subtle warning to opponents that he plays much bigger.

On the playoff stage, Hagel is showing that intensity can outweigh size, as he's been the most impactful player in the first-round series against the Canadiens.

Hagel leads all skaters in the series with three goals. He's been an important part of a matchup line that's locked down the Canadiens' top line in 5-on-5 through the first two games of the series. And he's averaging the most minutes among forwards at 24:40, and he's been a key piece of both Lightning special teams units.

But it's what Hagel is doing to bring an emotional edge to the Lightning that's been even more impactful.

In the second period of Tampa Bay's 3-2 overtime win in Game 2, he goaded Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky, who has been a Lightning-killer all season, into a fight - and literally knocked him down a size.

The two went toe-to-toe after a scrum before Slafkovsky nodded to Hagel's challenge. They dropped gloves, andb Slafkovsky grabbed Hagel and threw three punches. But Hagel recovered and sent Slafkovsky to the ice with a heavy overhand right that sent Benchmark International Arena into a frenzy.

"Our bench was fired up, the building was fired up, it's a big moment," said Lightning enforcer Scott Sabourin. "He took on a big boy in Slaf, whose got him by 4 inches and probably 40 pounds. ... It's contagious, when you see him going that hard, being that passionate. He's scoring, he's fighting, he's hitting, he's chirping, he's defending, he's killing off penalties. He's eating all those big minutes, and he's helped propel us."

It's what Hagel did next that showed how he's built for these moments. After decking Slafkovsky, he looked to the benches and held his left hand parallel to the ice, pushing it down below his hip, the "too small" gesture that's become a popular taunt in the NBA. In the penalty box, Hagel put his hands together against his cheek and tilted his head, the "Night, Night" gesture made famous by Steph Curry.

"That's just Hagey being Hagey," Lightning forward Gage Goncalves said. "He wears it all on his sleeves, and it does a lot for us. And whether he got the knockout or he lost the fight, he's bringing that exact same emotion. We really thrive off that kind of stuff.

"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. 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."

‘A little bit of a psychopath'

If the Lightning have become the villains of the NHL playoffs, they've embraced that role. They like to play with emotion, and that can come out through being loud and brash, and taking on all comers.

"I think that's what runs the ship," Hagel said before the playoffs. "I think when you're vocal and not just waiting for your next shift, it's doing whatever it needs to take. Some guys may not be vocal, maybe some guys are gonna go out there and take their anger out in a different way. It's just kind of instilled in me that I'm a little bit of a psychopath. So, I use my words and I scream and I yell, but I know that's making me the best player that night."

The fight between Hagel and Slafkovsky is a perfect example of a narrative the Lightning love.

Slafkovsky is a former top overall pick and had the hopes of an Original Six franchise on his shoulders from the first time he pulled a Canadiens sweater over his head.

After the Sabres drafted Hagel in the sixth round in 2016 and didn't sign him, he was an invitee at Montreal's development camp in 2018 but didn't receive a contract offer.

Even when the Lightning sent two first-round picks to Chicago in a package to acquire Hagel at the 2022 trade deadline, Tampa Bay was widely criticized for giving the Blackhawks too much. Now, there's no debate that Hagel's current deal - he's signed through 2031-32 at a $6.5 million cap hit - is one of the best bargains in hockey.

From delivering punches to punching dummies

Hagel has quickly drawn the ire of rival fan bases.

After he tried to pull Rasmus Dahlin into a fight during a crazy 8-7 loss in Buffalo on March 8, a play that ended with Hagel swinging at Dahlin as the Sabres defenseman tried to pull away, a dummy with Hagel's face on it was put up outside KeyBank Center before the Lightning's next visit that fans could swing at as they entered the arena.

It wasn't long ago Hagel was a national hero in Montreal, when he fought Matthew Tkachuk at puck drop to open the U.S.-Canada round-robin game in last year's 4 Nations Faceoff. He brought the crowd to its feet after waving his arms in the air on his way to the penalty box, just as did a few nights ago in Tampa after sparring with Montreal's Josh Anderson. Hagel mocked Anderson from the penalty box, picking up a towel and suggesting he should clean up the blood from under his left eye from the tussle.

"He's gonna be the bad guy, when a year ago he was beloved in that arena," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Yeah, that'll be tough, but I think deep down inside every one of those fans, I'm hoping, will have a little soft spot for Brandon Hagel."

Fat chance, Hagel said.

"I think this one is not gonna be the same going over there, but I'm excited," he said. "What a building to play in. ... It doesn't even matter that we're on the away side, you've gotta embrace an opportunity like that. As a player, you dream of playing in buildings like that and playing in atmospheres like that. So, hopefully our team can feed off that."

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 5:52 PM.