According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been linked to New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh
The NHL trade deadline is coming up. That means February will be a non-stop storm of NHL trade rumors. The New York Rangers figure to be significant players at the deadline as sellers while the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking to load up for a Stanley Cup run. According to Bob McKenzie, the Bolts have been linked to Rangers captain and defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
While New York probably isn’t going to trade him until the summer, they are definitely listening to offers for him. It’s hard to predict what kind of return the Rangers would get for McDonagh because defensemen of his caliber are rarely made available. The Lightning have done business with the blue shirts before and they could do it again.
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Ironically, last time the two sides did business, the Rangers acquired Martin St. Louis from them in exchange for Ryan Callahan and draft picks. This season, it could be the polar opposite. McDonagh is under control through next season and would be a significant upgrade for the Lightning.
Even without the Rangers captain, Tampa Bay’s defense has been treading water despite not having their top defenseman Victor Hedman. But they’d still like to add another top-four defenseman to prepare in case of another injury. The Lightning should acquire more depth. Why? The 2005-06 Buffalo Sabres are a pretty good reason.
It’s hard to tell if the Lightning have the assets necessary to get McDonagh. He’d require at the very least a first round pick and at least two prospects, with at least one of them being top-tier. Mikhail Sergachev and Brayden Point are off the table. Those two might be the only two players under 25 years old worth calling “elite” on the Lightning other than Kucherov.
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Brett Howden is a pretty good prospect, but he’s not a top-tier guy. Slater Koekkoek and Jake Dotchin could be two guys targeted in a return, as the Rangers are still overhauling their blue line. This will likely get revisited in the offseason because the Lightning likely don’t have the goods to make New York trade their captain right now.
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