RYAN McDONAGH - Defenseman - 30 - $6.75MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2025-2026
LAST UPDATED 8/20/19
As a former Rangers captain, Ryan McDonagh's value as a hockey player is known throughout the league. He's logged around 22-24 minutes a night for most of his career, and scored around 40 points every year as well. McDonagh's defense is very well respected. He's not a towering defenseman like Tyler Myers is, but he's incredibly refined and a master of the nuance of NHL defense. He can block shots well and he knows where to be and what to do in the defensive zone to keep the puck out of the net. Few players can match the defensive instincts of McDonagh, and that defense drives much of his value. Offensively, McDonagh is a good skater and an asset in transition, facilitating zone exits and helping out with some zone entries. McDonagh shouldn't QB a power play and shouldn't be confused with more talented offensive defensemen, but the volume of minutes he logs allows him to be in lots of offensive opportunities and his versatility allows him to be a safe power play outlet, meaning he racks up points from sheer circumstance alone. That's not to say that McDonagh lacks puck skills, he's a fine passer and can earn his fair share of points, but ignoring the volume of opportunities McDonagh gets nightly to contribute offense thanks to his teammates and the amount of ice time he plays would be a mistake. Still, McDonagh earns his ice time thanks to his defense, so I don't attribute much of his offense to his ice time as a way of deriding his overall talent, it's just the reality of how he plays. The level of minutes he can capably play drives his value, and makes him one of the game's best #2 defensemen, capable of expertly anchoring a second pairing with a weaker partner, or a low-end #1 defenseman who can fill in on the top pairing in the absence of a true Norris contender like Victor Hedman.
As a former Rangers captain, Ryan McDonagh's value as a hockey player is known throughout the league. He's logged around 22-24 minutes a night for most of his career, and scored around 40 points every year as well. McDonagh's defense is very well respected. He's not a towering defenseman like Tyler Myers is, but he's incredibly refined and a master of the nuance of NHL defense. He can block shots well and he knows where to be and what to do in the defensive zone to keep the puck out of the net. Few players can match the defensive instincts of McDonagh, and that defense drives much of his value. Offensively, McDonagh is a good skater and an asset in transition, facilitating zone exits and helping out with some zone entries. McDonagh shouldn't QB a power play and shouldn't be confused with more talented offensive defensemen, but the volume of minutes he logs allows him to be in lots of offensive opportunities and his versatility allows him to be a safe power play outlet, meaning he racks up points from sheer circumstance alone. That's not to say that McDonagh lacks puck skills, he's a fine passer and can earn his fair share of points, but ignoring the volume of opportunities McDonagh gets nightly to contribute offense thanks to his teammates and the amount of ice time he plays would be a mistake. Still, McDonagh earns his ice time thanks to his defense, so I don't attribute much of his offense to his ice time as a way of deriding his overall talent, it's just the reality of how he plays. The level of minutes he can capably play drives his value, and makes him one of the game's best #2 defensemen, capable of expertly anchoring a second pairing with a weaker partner, or a low-end #1 defenseman who can fill in on the top pairing in the absence of a true Norris contender like Victor Hedman.
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