Tampa Bay Lightning Trade Ryan McDonagh To Nashville

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have traded defenceman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash.

We have acquired defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash from Nashville in exchange for Ryan McDonagh.https://t.co/CuiUSq32qS

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— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 3, 2022

Ryan McDonagh Traded to the Predators

This was a move the Tampa Bay Lightning did not want to make. Entering the offseason, the Lightning had some priorities. One of which is to sign forward Ondrej Palat. The Lightning just re-signed Nick Paul to a new seven-year contract.  But this move was a possibility after Elliotte Friedman and others had reported there was a chance the Lightning were going to ask McDonagh to waive his no-movement clause.

As Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois stated post-trade this was the most difficult discussion he had with a player as he felt McDonagh was one of the best defencemen in the league.

“It was not a pleasant experience having to ask Ryan McDonagh to waive his no-trade,” BriseBois said. “I’m sure it was even more uncomfortable for him because I know he didn’t want to leave the Lightning,”

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McDonagh has been a key party of the Lightning leadership and defence corps since coming to the Lightning in February of 2018. Through these last three years, McDonagh has been a warrior for the Lightning. This year alone he had mangled fingers after continuously blocking shots. The Lightning do not win back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships without Ryan McDonagh in the lineup. His prowess on the blueline led to him being one of the best shutdown defencemen in the league.

Considering how much the Lightning love their blueline, especially the left side, this was a surprising move. Not to mention McDonagh did not want to leave the Lightning. However, like the other 31 teams in the league, the Lightning are living in a salary cap world. This is not the time or place to approach that topic. But it is unfortunate that Lightning cannot keep this group together going forward.

“If we didn’t live in a flat salary-cap world, it would never have crossed my mind to ask Ryan McDonagh to waive his no-trade clause because I would’ve been ecstatic to know that I had him under contract for four more years,” BriseBois continued. “But he (McDonagh) became the odd man out when considering contracts for Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak, Ross Colton, and Cal Foote going forward.”

The Lightning have now freed up $6.75 million in cap space to re-sign two key players in their lineup. However, whoever takes over McDonagh’s role will have pretty big shoes to fill.

“It gives us the flexibility to potentially re-sign Palat or Rutta or address holes that need to be filled on the free-agent market or the trade market. Or those holes could be filled organically from within our organization,” BriseBois continued.

What the Predators Are Getting in McDonagh

The Predators are getting a solid defenceman they can add to their corps of Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Dante Fabbro. McDonagh played in 71 games this past season with the Lightning recording 26 points. He was playing on the second pair behind Victor Hedman. Nashville has been the place for defencemen to go. Look for McDonagh to play a similar role in Nashville. This time behind Josi. And with Juuse Saros between the pipes, Nashville just extended their window.

“Ryan McDonagh is the ultimate team player who will bring experience and leadership to our lineup,” Predators GM David Poile said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that he waived his no-movement clause to come to Nashville. With the ability to play in any situation, he immediately strengthens our defensive corps.”

Going Forward

The addition of McDonagh to their defence, gives Nashville three defencemen making over $6 million; Josi ($9.059 million), McDonagh ($6.75 million) and Ekholm ($6.25 million). All of them are signed through 2026 according to CapFriendly. In addition, the Predators have $18 million in cap space left to use to sign forwards Filip Forsberg.

Myers carries a $2.55 million salary-cap hit for the Lightning. Tampa Bay may still have to make another move to bring back Palat and Rutta.