McDonagh a perfect fit for the Canadiens
In their recent letter to fans, the New York Rangers announced that they would be beginning the process of rebuilding their team, or in their words "we will be focused on adding young, competitive players that combine speed, skill and character. This may mean we lose some familiar faces, guys we all care about and respect".
This then raised the question of who they may make available, with names like Nash, McDonagh, Staal, and Grabner coming up. One of the most prominent names in that list is McDonagh's.
McDonagh has built up an impressive resume in his time with the rangers, being named the teams captain, and becoming a bonafide top-2 defender, while amassing 51 goals and 187 assists for 238 points in 516 career games with the Rangers.
One of the teams that are likely to inquire about McDonagh's services is the Montreal Canadiens, who originally drafted the defenseman in 2007 with the 12th overall pick, however, he was traded away before ever getting to debut as a Canadien.
Making a case for a trade to Montreal:
Over the past couple of summers, the Canadiens have made trades that have slowly but surely derailed their team from having any long-term success. Notable trades such as sending away Subban, and Sergachev have blown up in front of them and have made them a far less dynamic team that they could have been. McDonagh who was a first round pick by Montreal in 2007, is someone who they can bring in to revitalize their team and add the level of play that they are currently missing from trading away the aforementioned defensemen. Since McDonagh is not a rental, it would take a significant package deal by Montreal that would need to include the young players that the Rangers are looking for and most likely some draft picks. With the Price likely being very high to acquire McDonagh, here are some of the packages that Montreal can put together:
1. Zachary Fucale, Noah Juulsen, Nikita Scherbak, 2018 MTL 2nd Round Draft pick, and 2018 MTL (from CHI) 2nd Round Draft pick for Ryan McDonagh and 2018 NYR 4th Round Draft pick
2. Alex Galchenyuk and 2018 MTL 3rd Round Draft pick for Ryan McDonagh and 2018 NYR 4th Round Draft pick
3. Josh Brook, Charlie Lindgren, Nikita Scherbak, 2019 MTL 3rd Round Draft pick, and 2018 MTL 2nd Round Draft pick *Conditional pick that would turn into MTL 2018 1st round pick if they make the playoffs this year* for Ryan McDonagh and Michael Grabner
The best option:
In a perfect world, the first option would be the best deal for the rangers, they would receive two highly touted prospects in Juulsen and Scherbak, along with a future starter to replace Lundqvist in Fucale, and a couple of 2nd round draft picks to draft more young players, and Montreal gets the defenseman they need that they have been ironically trading away. The trade would most likely not be exactly that way, however any trade that involves McDonagh going the other way is likely to bring in a similar return.
February 26th trade deadline:
Leading up to the trade deadline both teams should be fairly busy, with the Rangers trying to find deals for their veterans and upcoming UFA's, and Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin trying to find a trade that can help get his team back into the playoffs while trying to save his job.
--
Follow on Twitter @lucasdepaolis
