Sam Hitchcock: Musings on Miller and McDonagh

Mac is an absolute warrior, no doubt. But, I think all Ranger fans would agree that as much as he was loved, we were glad they moved him rather than paying him. He puts hard miles on his body. Love the guy, but you are right that his contract is not good and heading toward being bad.
On Miller. You guys should regret nothing. Sucks that he exploded this past season, but he is a frustrating player more often than not.

At the time of trading miller it was looked as a steal from TB’s perspective. They were strapped for cash and managed to get a 1st rnd pick that odds were at the time not to be late in the round.

If TB were to decide to trade mcdonagh it would be harder to find a team that would take him but based on history I think that your gm could get one done without having to give up much to dump his contract.

Nobody here or the blogger have watched much of Miller this season if at all. You really ought to do your homework & research his ENTIRE season. Not the beneficiary but the top F this year easily.

Take Stetcher off our hands for a 2nd.

Nobody here or the blogger have watched much of Miller this season if at all. You really ought to do your homework & research his ENTIRE season. Not the beneficiary but the top F this year easily.

Take Stetcher off our hands for a 2nd.
- Nighthawk

This season, no. But, you might want to take a gander at the rest of his career and put some thought into whether you are ever going to see this kind of season from him again.
I'd be happy for the guy if he has put it all together, but as George Bush said, fool me twice...

If the league allows a compliance buyout the Lightning really need to consider if they want to use it on McDonagh. He is a great player but he has consistently battled injuries and they need to invest in the younger guys like Sergachev and Cernak. Would hate to lose Mac but with the cap crunch clearing his contract would be huge. Gourde or Johnson would be candidates as well but I bet they can trade them easier then Mac due to the contract.

Agree about being a buyout candidate. I like McD, but his foot speed has declined and that has had an effect on other aspects of his game. The term and caphit is a killer. He's still a serviceable second pairing and PK guy, but that is a steep price to pay. Honestly, and I never thought I would say this, but I would rather buyout McD and use some of that money to resign Shattenkirk if Shatty will sign a short term deal at a discount. Use the spare change to spread around.

I think it's too soon to write off McD. He still has another good season left in him, maybe two if we are lucky - like a declining Stralman. He's still better than Coburn, Schenn, or Bogosian by a mile. We knew this was a bad contract from the moment they announced it. We hoped his inevitable decline wouldn't start this quickly. Now, here we are. Buy him out or trade him (and retain or sweeten).