Lightning strikes as Tampa Bay acquires McDonagh

NEW YORK - The Tampa Bay Lightning made the biggest move at the NHL's trade deadline on Monday, acquiring defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward JT Miller from the New York Rangers for forward Vladimir Namestnikov, two prospects and two draft picks.

Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said it was difficult to deal McDonagh, who was New York's captain, but the returns - prospects Libor Hajek and Brett Howden, and Tampa Bay's first-round pick in 2018 and a conditional first-round pick in 2019 - are "exciting" for a franchise in the midst of a rebuild.

"There's a lot of work here," Gorton said on a conference call. "We're trying to build a team. We're adding these assets and doing all these things, but there's a lot of work to be done.