*Photo from the New York Times*
He's coming back to town. The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired D Ryan McDonagh and a 2024 4th round draft pick from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2025 second round pick and a 2024 7th round pick, according to both teams.
According to Predators GM Barry Trotz, McDonagh approached the team at the end of the season about trading him back to Tampa Bay after the Predators acquired him before the 2022-2023 season from the Lightning. McDonagh waived his no trade clause to get the deal done.
Trotz said of the conversation that "We talked at the end of the year and he's got so many good memories of his time in Tampa, that's probably where him and his wife are going to settle. We just had a conversation about a little bit of life and what that holds in the future. For me, he's been such a fantastic leader and someone who I have so much respect for. He said if there's ever an opportunity for me to get back to Tampa, he asked if I'd explore that a little bit. And so out of respect and the type of person that Ryan is, I talked to Julien and he made a fair deal that would allow us to have Ryan go back to Tampa Bay and do the right thing."
McDonagh is under contract for the next two years, eligible to hit free agency after 2025-2026. He's due $6.75 million in each of the next two years and has a full no trade clause in 2024-2025 and a 12 team modified trade clause in 2025-2026. The Lightning are taking on McDonagh's full cap hit.
This past season was McDonagh's second with the Predators following a trade by the Lightning. He ended the season with 3 goals and 29 assists for 32 points, averaging 21:47 of ice time with a +19 rating in 74 games. He had no goals and one assist in 6 playoff games.
McDonagh said of returning to Tampa Bay that "There’s a handful of guys on that team still that are proven winners and that’s hard not to overlook. There’s obviously new guys that I haven’t played with yet, that I’ll get a chance to play alongside too, but you know as well as I that core group is a special group. And to be back with them, it’s hard not to make you believe again that something special can be done once more."
After being traded to the Lightning at the 2017-2018 trade deadline, McDonagh was a part of two championship teams with Tampa Bay before he was traded to the Predators after the 2021-2022 season in exchange for defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash.
Following the trade, the Lightning now have roughly $5 million in cap space ahead of free agency, with captain Steven Stamkos still needing to be re-signed. The Predators have no key free agents to re-sign and have roughly $26 million in cap space ahead of free agency.
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