NHL Trade Rumors 2018: New York Rangers' Ryan McDonagh To Go To Tampa Bay Lightning?

By Jessica Ferrera, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 06, 2018

One of the speculations concerning the National Hockey League suggests that the New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh could soon be making the move to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The NHL trade deadline is set to occur later this month, so it is that time of the year again when teams are making huge decisions, all with the hope of strengthening their rosters.

In a recent update from TSN's hockey commentator Bob McKenzie, he said the Tampa Bay Lightning was one of the most likely teams to contend for the Stanley Cup opposite the Nashville Predators.

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With the looming trade deadline, the Tampa Bay franchise is expected to make a move to further seal their chances of winning in the playoffs and eventually joining the Stanley Cup games.

In the same series of Twitter posts, McKenzie suggested that the Tampa Bay Lightning was specifically hoping to acquire "a veteran defenceman."

"Both teams appear to looking at the usual (trade bait) suspects. Bearing in mind 'looking at' isn't the same as 'trading for,' TB, for example, would be doing due diligence on a bunch of D, including a guy like NYR Ryan McDonagh amongst others," the reporter added.

Meanwhile, another player who is eyed to possibly join the Tampa Bay Lightning is Ottawa Senators' Erik Karlsson.

Matt Larkin of The Hockey News recently entertained questions from NHL fans. One of them asked whether general manager Steve Yzerman needed to repeat the decisive 2004 trade that landed the Lightning Darryl Sydor, which eventually led to the team winning the Stanley Cup.

The reporter agreed that the Tampa Bay franchise was in the right position now to be more aggressive and pursue a playoffs run and eventually the championships.

"Now's a great time to pursue upgrades – and not just rentals, such as Mike Green, but also players with additional years left on their deals. That could include blueliners Ryan McDonagh and, yes, Erik Karlsson," Larkin added.

Meanwhile, there are also speculations that the New York Rangers are unlikely to let go of McDonagh at least until summer when the current season is over. And noting that the Rangers and Lightning have dealt some interesting trade negotiations before, there is a good chance that the two might reach another agreement as long as the Tampa Bay front office will make the right offer.