The NHL offseason — AKA Silly Season — is well underway. Last week, Nick Kypreos released his updated trade board for the NHL offseason, and it contains some very interesting names and ideas. One of which is Tampa Bay Lightning’s very own Ryan McDonagh. The rumours surrounding a potential McDonagh departure are due to the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning have very little cap space, and may look to create more by trading the 36-year-old defender.
McDonagh himself wants to remain in Tampa. However, the Lightning may be forced to trade from a position of weakness in this case. Salary dumps rarely result in any on-ice value coming back in return.
This all comes only one year after the Lightning reacquired McDonagh from the Nashville Predators for a 2nd and 7th round pick. McDonagh had spent two years with the Predators before reuniting with the Lightning, and in his first season back, McDonagh showed why he was a defenceman to covet. He led the entire NHL in +/- at plus-43, while logging over 20 minutes a night, as well as leading the Lightning in short-handed time on ice. Needless to say, McDonagh has proved that even into his later years, he is still a very dependable presence on the back end.
There are several teams in the NHL who value that level of dependence and would see Ryan McDonagh as an immediate upgrade to their top four defence. As for the Lightning, with one more season remaining on the veteran’s $6.75 million cap hit, would trading the veteran defender be something the team will look to do?
Is trading McDonagh the next move?
If we look at the words of the player and the organization, the answer seemingly is no. Both Ryan McDonagh and GM Julien Brisebois expressed a mutual desire to continue this partnership in Tampa Bay. When asked about Ryan McDonagh’s UFA status in 2027 at the end of the Lightning’s post-draft interview, Brisebois explained
“The expectation is that we would like to keep Ryan. The vet himself has made clear that he would like to stay. At some point we’re going to address that, it won’t be this offseason, I already met with Ryan and told him that.”
Brisebois continued in saying that the Lightning have several players who are set to become free agents come next offseason, and that the plan as it currently stands is to let the season play out, and allocate the right dollars to the right players.
For the time being, McDonagh is slated to start the season as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and for good reason. Julien Brisebois has been glowing about his team over the course of this offseason, expressing time and time again about the abundance of talent and leadership that the Lightning have in their locker room, and Ryan McDonagh is a big part of that.
McDonagh has played more NHL games than Erik Cernak, J.J Moser, Darren Raddysh and Emil Lilleberg combined. Losing a veteran standout, without a solid return on investment on the defensive end to replace him, is a massive blow to the experience, poise, and leadership on Tampa’s back end.
This is a player you want on your team when the aspiration is the Stanley Cup. Yes, a trade would clear enough cap to offer the flexibility to pursue other moves. However, with the top free agents already gone, the Lightning would be very hard pressed to fill the hole left behind on their blueline. McDonagh is proving that he is a player who can continue to perform at a high level of competition late into his career, and is doing so on a reasonable contract that is presumed to become only more so next offseason.
