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New York Rangers roundtable: Best trade of the Lundqvist era

By John Williams

TAMPA, FL - MAY 22: Martin St. Louis
TAMPA, FL - MAY 22: Martin St. Louis /
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MONTREAL, QC – MAY 17: Brad Richards #19 and Ryan McDonagh #27 of the New York Rangers celebrate while taking on the Montreal Canadiens in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 17, 2014 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – MAY 17: Brad Richards #19 and Ryan McDonagh #27 of the New York Rangers celebrate while taking on the Montreal Canadiens in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 17, 2014 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images) /

Dan Carrozzi- The McDonagh trade (to the Rangers)

Back in 2007, the Rangers were up to their old tricks by throwing money at marquee free agents despite the salary cap. That off-season, one of the deals the team gave was a seven year, $51.5 million contract to former New Jersey Devil Scott Gomez.

Although Gomez had one productive season in New York, his production dropped off the next season. Looking to jettison his salary, the Rangers were able to find trading partners in the Canadiens.

During the 2009 off-season then-Montreal General Manager Bob Gainey traded his 2007 (12th overall) first round pick, defenseman Ryan McDonagh along with Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik for Scott Gomez, Michael Busto and Tom Pyatt.

For Montreal, Gomez was the only piece of consequence and his play rapidly declined until he was bought out by the team in 2013.

For the Rangers, only McDonagh panned out. However, the team got a bona fide number one defenseman on one of the league’s best contracts and eventually their captain. To add insult to injury, McDonagh led Rangers teams prevailed over the Canadiens twice in the playoffs during his tenure with the team in 2014 and 2017.

Canadiens fans can only dream of what a blueline consisting of McDonagh next to PK Subban in front of Carey Price could have done. Considering the anchors he was shackled to in New York, McDonagh probably wonders what could have been as well.

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