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.
