Let's go back and remember why the Montreal Canadiens traded Ryan McDonagh. That deal was on June 30, 2009, the Canadiens acquired forwards Scott Gomez and Tom Pyatt, and defenseman Michael Busto. The New York Rangers received Doug Janik, Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko, and the rights to Ryan McDonagh. I remember the day it happened.
I was stunned that the Montreal Canadiens gave up on McDonagh who was a terrific defenseman. He had a great background playing Minnesota High School Hockey, winning the Mr. Hockey Award and then looking good at Wisconsin. The McDonagh you see today was skinnier in college and the Canadiens thought he wasn’t strong enough. That’s what I kept hearing. Even then, I questioned why they felt that was the case?
Bob Gainey was the general manager. I asked around about this deal and many were surprised. The famous quote from Gainey was "We gambled and lost". They sure did. Was Gainey thinking that Scott Gomez was going to revert back to form? He had a decent year in 2009-10, but I can tell you because I was covering the Rangers back then, he wasn’t the player he was on the Devils. By the next season, his game had fallen off.
We know McDonagh was a captain in college, then the Rangers, won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and is now back at the age of 35 and he had a tremendous season and I’m sure he will be just as good in the playoffs.
I’m not reminiscing on the Canadiens’ season and maybe they should have tanked and all of that. What I am saying is this group wouldn’t have made this trade and that’s real progress. I can see how the team lets players develop and they would have done that with McDonagh.
The guy now known as “Mac Truck” is still going strong and this is a cautionary tale and one of the worst trades in the history of the franchise for many reasons.