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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on the best fit for Ryan McDonagh.
Todd Cordell
If Erik Karlsson is truly off the table, I think it'd make a ton of sense for Tampa Bay to pay up for McDonagh.
They are a little leaky on defense and adding McDonagh to the mix would go a long way towards fixing that problem.
A 1-2 of Hedman-McDonagh on the left side would be nothing short of incredible and allow the Lightning to ice a high-end defenseman for ~48 minutes a night come playoff time. That's a scary thought considering all the firepower they'd have playing in front of those guys.
The Lightning have the prospect and draft capital necessary to put together an attractive package and they have enough current cap space to fit him in comfortably (they can worry about their long-term situation in the off-season).
By all accounts, they seem like a great fit and trade partner.
James Tanner
I'd rather be specific and say for sure which team could use him, but the fact is, Ryan McDonough is an awesome player, one of the top 20 defenseman in the NHL, he's only 28 and every team could use him.
The Rangers have expressed a desire to rebuild, but I'm not sure it's easy enough to ever find a player like this, and rebuilds can go pretty fast, so I'd probably hang onto him unless completely blown away by an offer.
I think a good fit for him would be Boston. They have a limited window in which to win and so it might be worth it for them to pay up for this kind of impact player. As for the Leafs, they already are flooded with left handed guys, and I don't think the cost and timeline add up, despite rumours.
Adam French
Tampa Bay.
I think this one is pretty clear cut. Tampa is a serious contender. They have (at the moment) the Art Ross leader, somebody close to winning the Rocket, a Norris level defenseman and the Vezina winner. Let alone a second player in the Art Ross race, two guys with "normal" Calder level performances and just nice depth all around. What could they use? Another simple increase. You give me a top-3 of Hedman-Stralman-McDonagh...you show me arguably the best top-3 in the league.
McDonagh helps push down Cobourn and Girardi's minutes and might finally rid them of their worst defender Sustr.
The scary thing is that the Lightning have the prospects to actually get this done. Prospects like Howden, Hajek, Cernak, Masin, Cirelli, Foote, Raddysh are all a mix of A- to B- levels that the Rangers could really use for their rebuild.
I think it's a perfect fit and likely enough to make the Lightning the Cup favourites...if they aren't already.
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