TAMPA, Fla. — Just three days after the Lightning lost out on a third straight Stanley Cup to the Colorado Avalanche, general manager Julien BriseBois was forced to have one of those unpleasant offseason conversations with a valued player.
BriseBois sat down with defenseman Ryan McDonagh on Wednesday and told the veteran blueliner that the team needed to explore trade options to keep a competitive window open.
“Not the most pleasant thing I’ve had to do in my tenure as general manager, but I’m sure it was even more uncomfortable for him because I know he didn’t want to leave the Lightning,” BriseBois said Sunday afternoon. “He and his family were very happy here both living in the community and being a key member of our hockey team.”
On Thursday, Canada Sportsnet TV network reported the team was exploring a trade fit for McDonagh. And on Sunday, a deal came to fruition with the Predators, sending McDonagh to Nashville in exchange for forward Grant Mismash and defenseman Philippe Myers.
The move gives Tampa Bay some much-needed salary cap relief. McDonagh carried a cap hit of $6.75 million — the second-highest among Lightning defensemen, behind Victor Hedman’s $7.875 million, and sixth-highest on the roster — with four years left on his deal.
When evaluating players, their contracts and how they fit into the team’s competitive window, BriseBois determined McDonagh was the “odd man out.” The league’s flat cap over the past three years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and $1 million increase to $82.5 million didn’t help.
“Ryan McDonagh is an awesome human being and a great hockey player, and he’s done a lot of winning and he’s helped us do a lot of winning,” 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 because I would’ve been ecstatic to know that I had him under contract for four more years.”
BriseBois pointed out that forward Brayden Point’s new salary of $9.5 million kicks in this season and the Lightning will need to find room ahead of the 2023-24 season to re-sign restricted free agents like defensemen Erik Cernak, Cal Foote and Mikhail Sergachev and forwards Ross Colton and Anthony Cirelli. With McDonagh’s departure, BriseBois believes Sergachev and Foote are ready to step up into bigger roles.
The Lightning needed to find some cap relief so they can attempt to resign two of their remaining unrestricted free agents: veteran forward Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta. The team came to a seven-year, $22 million extension deal with unrestricted free-agent forward Nick Paul on Friday.
BriseBois did not have any updates on deals progressing with either Palat or Rutta.
Mismash, 23, who played for AHL Milwaukee last season, and Myers, who BriseBois remembered from his junior days, give Tampa Bay about $4.2 million in cap relief — for the day. BriseBois said he doesn’t plan on buying out Myers’ contract — $2.550 million — and he believes Myers’ “tool box” is something the team can improve, especially when it comes to his skating.
“He’s only 25 years old. He’s a 6-foot-5 defensemen with size and some physicality. He’s a quality skater. Can improve his skating — in the past, we’ve been able to work with players, provide them with resources and help them become better skaters,” BriseBois said. “He has a huge shot.”
McDonagh, 33, held a lot of respect in the Lightning’s locker room when he joined via trade in February 2018 as a Rangers captain. McDonagh wore an “A” on his sweater as an alternate captain for most of his tenure with Tampa Bay.
Playing in a shut-down defensive role alongside Cernak in the team’s second defensemen pairing, McDonagh logged critical minutes on the Lightning’s top penalty-kill unit and helped the group adapt a heavy defensive-minded style of play, especially when it came to shot blocking. In his 12-year career, he has never missed the postseason.
In the Lightning’s 2021 Cup run, McDonagh earned three Conn Smythe votes (all third place) for his on-ice efforts and impact throughout the postseason.
“He’s one of the best defenders in the NHL,” BriseBois said. “He’s a selfless player and a great leader. I would like to thank him for everything he’s done for us.”
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