Tampa Bay Lightning · Defense · Shoots L

Ryan McDonagh

Age 37 · 6'1" · 218 lb · Born in St. Paul, USA

Cap hit

$4.1M

3.9% of $104M cap

Term

3 yrs

Through 2028-29, then UFA

Clause

None

Surplus value

+$1.506M

vs. $5.606M market estimate

Confirmed by the public signing announcement · source

2026-27 regular season

Goals

0.0% shooting

Assists

0 primary

Points

0.00 per game

TOI/GP

15:49

PP 0:00 · PK 1:38

Plus/minus

-1

Hits

Blocks 3

PIM

Game Score

+0.01

per game

Game log

Last 5 games · NHL API

Game	SOG	HIT	BLK	TOI	PP	PK	FO	OZS%	GV	TK	+/-	GS
Oct 3 vs WSH · W 3-1	0	0	2	15:52	0:00	1:24	—	50	1	1	0	-0.05
Oct 1 @ NYR · L 5-1	1	1	1	15:46	0:00	1:52	—	50	1	1	-1	+0.07
May 3 vs MTL · L 2-1	1	1	1	16:17	0:00	2:29	—	50	1	1	0	+0.25
May 1 @ MTL · W 1-0	0	1	5	21:52	0:00	3:14	—	67	1	1	0	+0.15
Apr 29 vs MTL · L 3-2	2	0	2	16:23	0:03	0:00	—	0	1	0	0	-0.01

GS = our Game Score (credit for everything he did; goals and assists count most). FO = faceoffs won-lost. OZS% = share of his 5v5 offensive and defensive zone faceoff starts that were in the offensive zone. GV/TK = giveaways/takeaways.

Advanced metrics

5v5 unless noted · 2025-26 · 725 min · percentile vs. NHL defensemen

xGF%54.6%

84th percentile

Relative xGF%+1.0

63rd percentile

HDCF%58.7%

90th percentile

CF%50.3%

61st percentile

Relative CF%-3.3

20th percentile

FF%51.2%

70th percentile

GF%54.8%

76th percentile

CF/6055.5

45th percentile

CA/6054.8

70th percentile

ixG/600.25

65th percentile

Goals above expected+3.0

89th percentile

IPP50.0%

92nd percentile

PDO101.9

81st percentile

OZS%42.0%

31st percentile

xGF% is his team's share of 5v5 expected goals while he was on the ice, from our own expected goals model; HDCF% counts only high-danger chances (xG of 0.15 or more). IPP is the share of his team's 5v5 goals while he was on the ice that he scored or assisted on. Relative stats compare him with his team when he was off the ice. Goals above expected and ixG/60 use his own shots at all strengths. PDO and OZS% describe luck and deployment, so their bars are grey.

Play styleOffensive puck-moving defenseman

Trait percentiles vs. NHL defensemen · 2025-26

McDonagh drives play through crisp passing and intelligent positioning rather than shooting volume or pure speed. He controls possession effectively, generates decent rush chances, and impacts the game positively despite limited physicality and shot volume.

PlaymakerPossession driverHigh-IQ

Shooting volume: 25
Playmaking: 86
Zone entries(est.): 59
Forechecking: 63
Physicality: 39
Defensive impact: 67
Puck management: 59
Speed: 30

Where he shoots from

Slot 9% · Mid-range 30% · Perimeter 61%(70 unblocked shots)

Strengths

Playmaking at 86th percentile sets up consistent scoring chances for teammates
Defensive impact at 67th percentile shows strong awareness and positioning in own zone
Puck management at 59th percentile keeps possession flowing smoothly in transition

Watch-outs

Shooting volume at 25th percentile limits his direct offensive output from the point
Speed at 30th percentile means he relies on positioning over athleticism to defend
Physicality at 39th percentile shows he plays a non-contact style in his matchups

Similar style: Emil Andrae (CBJ), Ryan Ufko

Built from play-by-play, shift data, and NHL EDGE tracking. Zone entries is an estimate (rush chances while he is on the ice) until tracking data is added.

Career stats

From the NHL's player records

NHL regular season NHL playoffs All leagues

Season	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	GWG	SOG	S%	TOI	FO%
2010-11	New York Rangers	5	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	4	0.0	22:49	—
2011-12	New York Rangers	20	0	4	4	+2	11	0	0	0	36	0.0	26:49	—
2012-13	New York Rangers	12	1	3	4	+1	6	0	0	0	21	4.8	25:53	—
2013-14	New York Rangers	25	4	13	17	-1	8	2	7	0	46	8.7	26:49	—
2014-15	New York Rangers	19	3	6	9	+2	8	2	3	2	33	9.1	23:31	—
2015-16	New York Rangers	3	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	3	0.0	20:41	—
2016-17	New York Rangers	12	2	5	7	0	12	1	3	0	26	7.7	27:21	—
2017-18	Tampa Bay Lightning	17	0	5	5	+2	6	0	0	0	22	0.0	22:31	—
2018-19	Tampa Bay Lightning	4	0	0	0	-6	2	0	0	0	3	0.0	22:53	—
2019-20	Tampa Bay Lightning	22	1	4	5	-1	10	0	0	1	37	2.7	24:16	—
2020-21	Tampa Bay Lightning	23	0	8	8	+18	14	0	0	0	23	0.0	22:50	—
2021-22	Tampa Bay Lightning	23	1	4	5	+1	14	0	0	0	28	3.6	22:26	—
2023-24	Nashville Predators	6	0	1	1	-1	6	0	0	0	7	0.0	23:48	—
2024-25	Tampa Bay Lightning	5	0	3	3	+2	0	0	0	0	8	0.0	19:08	—
2025-26	Tampa Bay Lightning	7	0	1	1	+2	6	0	0	0	4	0.0	19:39	—
Career	15 seasons	203	12	57	69	+20	107	5	13	3	301	4.0	24:06	—

Seasons traded mid-year show one row per team.

Latest news

Headlines from news outlets and team blogs

No news about him in the last 30 days.

Sentiment & chatter

Fans

—

Beat writers

—

Media

—

Fan, beat writer, and media scores, the 14-day trade chatter chart, and the latest mentions appear once sentiment scoring is switched on. Mentions are already being collected.

Recent Game Scores

Last 10 games · goals above average

+0.9

+0.9DET4/13

+0.9

+0.9MTL4/19

+0.3

+0.3MTL4/21

+0.2

+0.2MTL4/24

+0.4

+0.4MTL4/26

-0.0MTL4/29

+0.1

+0.1MTL5/1

+0.3

+0.3MTL5/3

+0.1

+0.1NYR10/1

-0.1WSH10/3

Average +0.31 per game over these 10.

Where his Game Score comes from

+0.47 per game

2025-26 · 48 GP

Season total +22.5, or +0.47 per game.

Scoring: +15.3
Shooting: +2.9
5-on-5 goals: +0.9
Defense: +0.7
Penalty kill: -0.2
Physical play: +4.2
Puck battles: -1.6
Penalties: +0.4

Game Score gives credit for everything a player does in a game. Goals (1.0) and assists (0.7 primary, 0.5 secondary) count most; shots, blocks, hits, takeaways, penalties drawn, faceoff wins, killing penalties, and holding down the other team's chances add to it. Only mistakes subtract: goals against at 5-on-5, giveaways, penalties taken, faceoff losses, and allowing more chances than an average player would. A player who is there to defend or kill penalties is not marked down for not scoring. Goalies are measured by goals saved above expected.

Skating · NHL EDGE

2026-27, as of Oct 5

Top speed: 20.3 mph; 53rd pct
20+ mph bursts: 1
Hardest shot: 67.2 mph; 9th pct
Distance: 4.4 mi
OZ time: 40.2%; 42nd pct
DZ time: 38.4%

Usage

Last 2 games this season

Pair 2 with Erik Cernak (9:47 together per game at 5-on-5)

From the NHL's shift charts, averaged over this season's last 10 games.

Age curve

At 37: 59% of peak

NHL defensemen · production index

202937

At 37, defensemen typically produce 59% of their peak (age 24).

From 24 seasons of NHL results, adjusted for league scoring and save percentage in each era. Shaded bars are the seasons left on his contract.

Contract by season

3 seasons left

Season	Team	Cap hit	% of cap
2026-27	TBL	$4.1M	3.9%
2027-28	TBL	$4.1M	3.6%
2028-29	TBL	$4.1M	—

UFA after 2028-29. $12.3M in cap hits left. % of cap uses each season's ceiling where the league has set one ($104M this season, $113.5M in 2027-28).