BriseBois talks Lightning chance for three-peat in Q&A with NHL.com

NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with..." runs each Sunday. We talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This edition features Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois.

MANALAPAN, Florida -- Julien BriseBois' philosophy in advance of the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21 was simple and straightforward.
"When you're a top team and you consider that you are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender now, you're looking for any ways of improving your team and your odds of being successful," the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager said. "That was the mindset."
Accomplishing what he set out to was again difficult because of NHL salary cap constraints, but BriseBois, the architect of the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, hopes by the end of this season and beyond he can say mission accomplished, again.
The Lightning acquired forwards Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks and
Nick Paul
from the Ottawa Senators along with
Riley Nash
from the Arizona Coyotes.
Tampa Bay traded forwards Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk plus two conditional first-round draft picks to the Blackhawks for Hagel and two fourth-round picks. It sent forward Mathieu Joseph and a fourth-round pick to Ottawa for Paul. Arizona got future considerations for Nash.
BriseBois, speaking to NHL.com after the conclusion of the NHL General Managers' meetings Tuesday, called it paying a premium to get the forwards, in particular Hagel, who is 23 and signed through the 2023-24 with a $1.5 million average annual value.
Paul and Nash can become unrestricted free agents after this season.
The Lightning are left with four picks in the first three rounds of the next three NHL Drafts (first in 2022, second in 2024, third in 2023 and 2024), but BriseBois calculated the odds of those picks becoming NHL players versus the odds of Hagel and Paul helping the Lightning win immediately.
It was a gamble worth taking.
"Well, I won't get into the odds, but obviously they're different for the first pick overall than for the 32nd pick overall," BriseBois said. "We've researched them. I think ultimately what you need to be able to know is the value of the assets you're acquiring as well as the value of the assets you are moving out. You're making decisions based on all those assets that you're hoping to improve your odds of success."
The Lightning (43-18-7) are tied for second with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
BriseBois spoke to NHL.com about the Lightning's pre-deadline moves, his thoughts on the team's chances of winning the Stanley Cup again, and his personal experience in the game.
The Lightning have a forward line featuring Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Patrick Maroon. It was a third line for most of the season and I think a lot of teams would look at that and say, 'Hey, if that's our third line we're pretty good.' Now it's your fourth line because of Hagel, Paul and Ross Colton. Was the mindset going into the deadline to make that happen, to make the Bellemare line the Lightning's fourth line?
"I don't like the nomenclature of first line, second line, third line, fourth line. I get the narrative that's out there that we tried to rebuild our third line. That's also not really accurate. We were trying to improve our team, trying to improve our depth, trying to get as many good players possible and give our coaches as many options as possible. So, depending on the type of game and potentially the score and situation different players are going to play more. The two players we were able to bring in, Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul, and to a certain extent Riley Nash, who I consider a trade deadline acquisition, they give our coaches options and they make our group better. They provide versatility. They can play in different situations. That was the mindset, let's improve our team. In the case of Brandon Hagel there was a looking beyond this year component. He's under contract for two more years, we control him for two more after that. So, we potentially have five runs with him as a player on our team before he hits free agency. He's the second youngest player on our roster right now, a few months older than (defenseman) Cal Foote. He's a player that helps us now but will also help us going forward. Players like that are hard to get and you're going to pay a premium to get them."
So, big picture, what are your feelings toward the team and the chance to make another Stanley Cup run? Is it similar to how you felt last year as the season was winding down?
"I believe we have the makings of a Stanley Cup contender, but that's been true of our group probably going all the way back to 2015, the first year we went to the Stanley Cup Final. It's been true all those years and we didn't even make the playoffs in one of them, which goes to show how competitive this league is. We're one of many teams that I think has what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. It'll be really nice to overcome all the adversity that's going to be coming our way, all the challenges that are going to be coming our way and be the team that ends up with the Stanley Cup at the end of the season again for the third year in a row, obviously. But I know how challenging that will be and I know how challenging it was the last two years."
How do you weigh experience, especially the experience your team has in the playoffs, in terms of the value it adds to trying to win in the playoffs?
"I think it is important because it allows you to put things into perspective. You don't win 16 games in a row. That's not how you win the Stanley Cup. You're going to win some, you're going to lose some. You're going to be ahead and behind in games and series. To be able to always put things into perspective allows you to perform at your best and not let circumstances dictate how you play."
What was your best hockey memory before winning the Stanley Cup?
"Oh, wow. Job-related, not job-related? Does it have to be hockey? I've been working in the NHL since 2000 and even before that I was doing some salary arbitration for some NHL clubs. I have so many stories. That's a long time and a lot of stories so to pick one is really hard. Obviously, after you've won the Stanley Cup, that's the ultimate. The emotions, the joy associated with winning the Stanley Cup, there's nothing that really comes close to that."
Has it changed your life?
"I don't think so. I don't think so."
Does it change how you view yourself as a general manager?
"No, because I'm well aware that there is a lot of randomness that goes into success at the NHL level. I knew that beforehand. I think what prepared me for being an NHL general manager more than anything else was being an AHL general manager. All those years I did that, for 13 years, we were fortunate. I was associated with some really good teams, really good coaches, really good players. We went to the Calder Cup Finals four out of 13 years, twice we won and twice we lost. Just going through that, you get a sense for how thin the margin is between winning a championship and not winning a championship. I don't take that for granted. I'm well aware for us to win the two Cups, there's a lot of pixie dust associated with it. Now I'm hoping we have enough left to go get another one."
Even a team like the Lightning that's in a win-now mode it's still about development, or development remains important. I'm curious, since you have all that experience at the AHL level, what is your take on what the American Hockey League means and what means for teams as they are developing?
"It is so important to the overall success of your organization because that's where you get your players from for the most part. Either you get them directly out of your minor-league team or they're players you end up trading for that went through a development program and end up becoming valuable assets. It's critical. Even before the AHL experience, our summer camps, development camps, prospect camps, our main camps -- all those young guys start to learn how culture, learn our habits, our standards, our vernacular, the expressions we use. All of that is so valuable in terms of turning them into NHL players, or in our case Tampa Bay Lightning players."
Did you play hockey?
"I played youth hockey but not at any high level. My line is in every men's league I ever played in I am an excellent third line center for a team that uses only two lines."
OK, so you're like me. But with that, describe your competitiveness and where it comes from. I ask that because we're here at the GM meetings and you walk into that room and there are former players, some Hall of Fame players in there. To play at a high level you have to be incredibly competitive. You were not close to playing at a high level.
"I think to be a GM at this level you also have to be really competitive. You have to be really driven. I think that applies to me. I think that applies to all 32 of us."
Are you just a competitive guy, or just in hockey as an executive?
"No, I'm competitive in all areas. I mean, who doesn't like to win? Who likes to lose? I grew up with sports. I played youth hockey, but my main sport was baseball. I played some basketball, played some tennis. Even today, I still go out and play as much hockey as I can. Not as much as of late but I try to. Tennis, pickleball, driveway basketball with my sons. Whatever it is, there's no letting up."