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Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh knew ahead of time what Tuesday's season-opening game meant. For the first time since his July 2022 trade, the veteran blueliner would play a regular season game in Tampa Bay not as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rather, he'd suit up in the visitor's locker room for a change.
Players across the league skated in preseason games to prepare for the grind of the 2023-24 NHL season. But McDonagh had another purpose this fall. The Predators played in Tampa Bay back on September 30. It was the perfect opportunity to get the emotional aspect of the season opener out of the way.
“That's why I wanted to go there for a preseason game, just to get some of the emotions out. Get into the visiting room there so it's not too foreign to me when I walk in there [Tuesday]. I think it was good that we played them a couple of times during the preseason,” McDonagh said, via NHL.com.
The 34-year-old veteran defenseman joined the Lightning at the 2018 NHL trade deadline. Tampa loaded up in hopes of making a run at the Stanley Cup. And McDonagh's New York Rangers were not in contention for the playoffs at the time. So, the two teams struck a deal.
It would be another two years before the Lightning won the Cup they desired. Following that victory in 2020, McDonagh and Tampa Bay repeated the feat in 2021. Unfortunately, they could not complete the three-peat in 2022. They lost to the Colorado Avalanche in six games. And a few weeks later, the Lightning moved McDonagh to Nashville.
The 34-year-old Predators defenseman told NHL.com that the city of Tampa remains special to him. However, getting the emotions out of the way was key for him. “Obviously Tampa still holds a special place in my heart with all of the success and memories that we had. But at the end of the day, it's a great place to start for Game One,” McDonagh said on Monday.
