What Barry Trotz said about Nashville Predators trading Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay

Nashville Predators' general manager Barry Trotz started the offseason with a shocker on Tuesday, sending Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and clearing nearly $7 million in cap room for his team over the next two seasons.

After the trade, Trotz said the inception of the trade was less about clearing cap room and more about "doing the right thing" for McDonagh.

"It was a request from Ryan," Trotz said on Tuesday. "We talked a little bit at the end of the year. He said if there's ever an opportunity to get back to Tampa, he asked if I would explore that a little bit. So, out of respect for the type of person that (McDonagh) is, I talked to (Tampa) and we made I think a fair deal."

McDonagh, who turns 35 next month, was traded to Tampa from New York at the deadline in 2018. He then signed a seven-year, $47 million contract with the Lightning. While in Tampa, McDonagh helped the Lightning win two Stanley Cups (2020, 2021).

In the summer of 2022, then Predators' general manager David Poile acquired McDonagh from Tampa in exchange for Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash. The move was a salary cap dump by the Lightning at the time, but McDonagh has always called Tampa home, even when in Nashville.

"(McDonagh's) got so many good memories of his time in Tampa," Trotz said. "That's probably where him and his wife are going to settle. He's been such a fantastic leader and someone I have so much respect for. Do the right thing. There's sometimes in this game you try to do the right thing for good people."

Doing the right thing for a player is an honorable move, especially for a player like McDonagh, who is so universally respected. But the reality is the Predators save nearly $7 million in salary cap over the next two seasons, plus they offload one of their only contracts with a no trade clause.

Apparently that didn't play into the decision to trade McDonagh.

"To me, (the cap room) wasn't much of a factor. It was more of doing the right thing. We both talked about it, he just said what he wanted to do. It was nothing more than that. You've got to have the interest and Tampa had the interest. Fortunately it worked out, it's going to work out for both teams," Trotz said.

Trotz did admit the team will have more flexibility to make moves this summer, though he didn't specify what position or specific players.

"We will maybe be a little more active in some free agents that we weren't considered to be in," Trotz said.

The Predators also acquired a second-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2024. Tampa acquired McDonagh and a fourth-round pick in 2024. According to Cap Friendly, the Predators now have just over $26 million in salary cap to spend this summer.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Barry Trotz said about trading Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay