It might be understandable that Ryan McDonagh seems distracted on Saturday night. When he looks across the ice to the visitor’s bench, he will see many familiar faces as the Nashville Predators host his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, at Bridgestone Arena (Nov. 19). McDonagh played for the Lightning from 2018-2022, helping them win two Stanley Cup Championships along the way.
His departure from the Lightning was amicable, as he was a victim of Tampa’s salary cap issues. In July of 2022, McDonagh agreed to waive his no-trade clause and be traded to the Predators for Phillippe Myers and Grant Mishmash. In helping the Lightning manage their cap issues, the Predators picked up a player who many thought would help the team; he is a proven winner and leader who eats up more than 20 minutes in ice time every game. Now, as McDonagh is starting to hit his stride with the Predators, he will face his former teammates for the first time in the regular season.
The Lightning Miss Their Former Leader
In addition to what the 33-year-old could do on the ice, it is off the ice where his presence will be missed the most. During the preseason, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman talked about McDonagh’s departure. “You don’t replace a guy like that. He was one of the biggest warriors on ice that I’ve seen, blocking shots for fun and making big-time plays, and a good leader in the locker room” (from ‘Loss of Ryan McDonagh still stings as Lightning open camp,’ Tampa Bay Times, Sept. 21, 2022).
McDonagh also made contributions on the ice, as he posted 99 points with 20 goals and 79 assists, 529 blocks, and a plus-74 rating in 267 regular-season games in Tampa Bay. He was the Lightning’s top shot blocker and the backbone of the top penalty-kill unit. The St. Paul, Minnesota, native had the third-most ice time on the team, averaging 22 minutes and 27 seconds a game in 2021-22. If you did not think he was a gutsy player, he also played the entire playoffs with a mangled finger.
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It makes sense when Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois said, “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.” This explains why the Lightning would trade a player with four years remaining on his contract, especially a player…
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