Perhaps the Tampa Bay Lightning learned a lesson from their previous negotiations with an aging franchise icon. After not being able to come to an agreement with Steven Stamkos two summers ago, they took a different approach with Ryan McDonagh. Instead of waiting until after the season was over, they inked their veteran defenseman to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.1 million.

The deal will theoretically keep in the blue and white for the rest of his career as he will be 40-years-old when it expires. The biggest question will be if he makes it to the end of the contract. The left-shot defenseman has been out of the line-up since early November with a lower-body injury and doesn’t currently have a time-table for his return. With his rugged style of play injuries will likely be a factor moving forward.

Still, when he is in the line-up, McDonagh is a steady presence on the defense. Paired with Erik Cernak, he usually takes on the opponents’ top lines and has a huge role on the penalty kill. Ryan McDonagh is the living, skating personification of veteran leadership. Oh, and he’s still pretty effective.

The $4.1 million cap hit represents a $2 million decrease from his current deal, and should age well as the salary cap continues to increase. There is a chance he could have secured a similar or more lucrative deal on the free agent market this summer, as the free agent market isn’t overflowing with defenders that can be penciled in for 20+ minutes a night in a shutdown role. Outside of Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Trouba the talent level drops off a bit and McDonagh probably would have been among the top five available blue liners.

It is apparent that he has a deep affinity for the organization and area. He signed a long-term deal in 2018 and then waived his no-trade clause to return to the organization after a few seasons in Nashville. Now it appears he’ll end his storied career in Tampa as he builds a potential hall-of-fame career.

The official press release:

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Ryan McDonagh to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.1 million, Vice President and General Manager Julien BriseBois announced today.

McDonagh, 36, has skated in 364 career games with Tampa Bay, recording 27 goals and 136 points with a plus-118 rating. Among all defensemen in Lightning franchise history, McDonagh ranks second for plus/minus and blocked shots (707), fourth for takeaways (143), sixth for assists (109) and points, seventh for goals, eighth for hits (348) and ninth for games played. He led the NHL for plus/minus last season with a plus-43.

A back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion with the Bolts in 2020 and 2021, McDonagh has skated in 94 career playoff games with Tampa Bay, the third-most among all defensemen in franchise history. He ranks second all-time among all Lightning defenders for postseason plus/minus (+16), blocked shots (212) and takeaways (42), while his 24 assists and 26 points are good for third and his 202 hits rank fourth.

The two-time NHL All-Star has played in 1,025 career NHL games between the Lightning, Nashville Predators and New York Rangers, logging 83 goals and 426 points while averaging 22:32 of time on ice. Among all active NHL defensemen, he ranks first for career plus/minus (+290), third for blocked shots (2,037), ninth for takeaways (521) and 13th for games played.

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, McDonagh is one of just three American-born players in NHL history to record 2,000 career blocked shots, trailing only John Carlson (2,133) and Ryan Suter (2,043) for the all-time lead. The 6-foot-1, 216-pound defenseman also ranks third all-time among American-born skaters for career plus/minus behind two Hockey Hall of Famers in Mark Howe (+400) and Chris Chelios (+351).

McDonagh was selected to attend the USA Hockey Olympic Orientation Camp this past August in advance of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan Cortina, Italy.

The Lightning Alternate Captain was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, 12th overall, of the 2007 NHL Draft. He was acquired by the Bolts in a trade with the Rangers on February 26, 2018. He was then reacquired by Tampa Bay in a trade with the Predators on May 21, 2024.