Brandon Hagel signed a new 8-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning

• NHL

Last night, Brandon Hagel signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning that will pay him $52 million for eight years. This young forward had no dilemma whether to extend his contract. Although this lasted for a long time, Hagel still managed to come to an agreement with the team.

Tampa Bay leaders knew how important he would be. "You go through a season like this and a lot of things are going on in your mind," Hagel said, as quoted by NHL. "You'd be crazy if you said you never thought about the deal during the year.

I'm grateful we were able to get it done now. Now we can move on and worry about winning and getting the team to the next level."

Brandon Hagel

Hagel is happy to have the opportunity to play with the big stars of the NHL scene.

He has a great relationship with his teammates, and he wants to continue like that in the future. "I felt comfortable. I love the guys here. I love the core that they have for the [future]. I want to jump on that core. I want to win a lot and this is the place to do it.

And I'm living in Tampa, so I can't complain." The Tampa Bay Lightning want to have a great team next season for big campaigns as well. Hagel is a player who has a lot of room for improvement and still has a lot to learn. Fortunately, the team has a lot of stars who have a lot of experience in the game and who know how to win.

"We have a winning culture here and want to keep it that way," Hagel said. "A lot of those guys that are locked up, have Stanley Cups, they have rings. I'm still going to learn from those guys. Those guys have done it at the next level, they won Stanley Cups two straight years.

There are guys on our core that I want to learn from and they will make me a better hockey player. I'm just grateful I get to play the next eight years … I guess nine years, with these guys."