The Tampa Bay Lightning made the tough decision on Sunday to part ways with longtime defenseman and alternate captain Ryan McDonagh. The Lightning are reportedly sending McDonagh to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Philippe Myers as well as forward Grant Mismash. The trade was announced by the Lightning via Twitter.
We have acquired defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash from Nashville in exchange for Ryan McDonagh.https://t.co/CuiUSq32qS
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 3, 2022
While McDonagh was a key locker room presence and one of the best defenders in Tampa, the Lightning were forced to move on from him in a cost-cutting move. McDonagh had signed a seven-year, $47.25 million deal with the Lightning in 2019 and was due to make $5.46 million next year, and $8.4 million in 2023-24.
McDonagh has been with the Lightning since Tampa acquired him via trade with the New York Rangers in 2018. He was a key part of the core that won two Stanley Cups over the past three years, and ranks third all-time among Lightning defenders in playoff games, points, and assists.
The Predators making the move to land McDonagh, who still has four years remaining on his contract, indicates the team's intention to contend for the playoffs, and could lend some indication as to their plans for star unrestricted free agent Filip Forsberg.
In exchange for McDonagh, the Predators will send Myers and Mismash to Tampa Bay. It's unclear how the pair figure into the Lightning's plans.
Myers, 25, spent the first three years of his career with the Flyers before joining Nashville in 2021-22. Across 27 games, the defenseman registered 4 points last year and has a total of 33 points in 142 career games.
As for Mismash, the 23-year-old was the Predators' second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but has yet to feature in an NHL game. He featured in 57 games last season for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL last year.
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