NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Nashville Predators have traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh back to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2024 7th round pick and a 2025 second round pick.
The 34-year-old defenseman played in 74 games with the Preds this season, recording three goals and 32 points.
He ranked second among Nashville defensemen.
McDonagh was traded to the Preds in July 2022 after helping the Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
The #Preds save some significant money with this McDonagh move. He has a $6.75 average salary over the next two seasons.
— Steve Layman (@SteveLayman) May 21, 2024
The savings on this contract will help GM Barry Trotz in their mission to get younger.
"This trade adds to our already deep corps of draft picks over the next two NHL Drafts and allows us to continue to make tweaks and improvements to our team during the offseason," Trotz said. "We want to make decisions that help us build on the success we had in the 2023-24 season by giving us as many weapons as we can get, whether it’s younger players on our roster, more impactful draft choices or salary cap flexibility.”
The Preds have nine picks in the 2024 NHL draft (scheduled for June 28-29) and now have nine picks in the following draft.
