Did the Chicago Blackhawks lose the Brandon Hagel trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Chicago Blackhawks' general manager Kyle Davidson shockingly traded Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022.

It was an interesting move considering Hagel was a promising player that the Hawks could have used as they entered an extensive rebuild.

Instead, Davidson leveraged Hagel's promise into two future first-round picks, Taylor Raddysh, and Boris Katchouk. The Blackhawks sent two fourth-round picks back to the Lightning as part of the deal.

Fast forward to the present, and at least for now, it looks like the Hawks have lost this trade.

Hagel scored 30 goals and registered 34 assists last season. He has 24 goals and 46 assists this season. The Hawks sure could use his scoring right now as the offense has struggled to get goals throughout the season.

Katchouk is no longer on the team after never being able to carve out a role on the team. Raddysh showed some promise last season, but he has been awful this year.

When it comes to the player exchange, the Blackhawks lost in that area.

How the first-round picks turn out is what will really determine the ultimate winner of this deal.

The Hawks selected Oliver Moore in last year's draft with the first of the multiple top picks they got in the deal. Moore is considered the Hawks' top prospect according to the Athletic's Scott Wheeler (access to link requires a subscription).

He was considered one of the best skaters in the draft. He just completed his freshman year at Minnesota where he made the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He scored nine goals and dished out 24 assists.

Tampa is currently projected to send the Hawks the No. 22 overall pick in the draft. Tankathon.com projects the Hawks taking the fourth-best right wing in Beckett Sennecke. He scored 27 goals along with 41 assists for the OHL's Oshawa Generals this season. Center Kamil Bednarik is considered the 22nd-best North American skater according to NHL.com. Ondrej Kos is a tall forward who is the 22nd-best International forward.

Needless to say, the Hawks have a chance to get a talented prospect. Trading Hagel was all about playing the long game. Raddysh and Katchouk did not pan out, but Moore has plenty of promise. The prospect the Hawks draft this year should also have much more hope to be great than Raddysh and Katchouk.

That is why you cannot officially declare a winner in this deal just yet.