The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenceman Ryan McDonagh to a three-year, $12.3 million extension.
The deal will carry an average annual value of $4.1 million for the 36-year-old veteran.
McDonagh has three goals and six points in 15 games with the Lightning this season. He is currently on injured reserve, having been sidelined since Nov. 8.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021, McDonagh returned to the team in a 2024 trade after two years with the Nashville Predators.
He is currently playing out the last of a seven-year, $47.25 million contract signed with the Lightning in 2018 that carries a cap hit of $6.75 million.
Selected 12th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2007 draft, McDonagh made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2010-11. He has 83 goals and 426 points over 1,025 career games.
“Mac is one of a kind,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday after the extension was announced. “If guys like Ryan McDonagh can’t get in the Hall of Fame, I’m not sure why we would have a Hall of Fame. That’s basically what I think.”
Lightning Locked Up Long-Term
McDonagh becomes the ninth player of the Lightning to sign through at least 2028-29, joining fellow blueliners Victor Hedman ($8 million AAV through 2028-29) and Erik Cernak ($5.2M AVV through 2030-31). Forwards Brayden Point, Jack Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul and Yanni Gourde are all signed long-term.
Extending winger Nikita Kucherov is likely to sit atop the team’s priority list next summer, when he enters the final year of his contract carrying a cap hit of $9.5 million. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is signed through 2027-28 at a salary of $9.5 million.