Rangers Deal McDonagh, Miller To Lightning For 2 Draft Picks, 3 Players

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Rangers squeezed in one last move before Monday's trade deadline -- and it was a blockbuster.

The Blueshirts dealt defenseman and captain Ryan McDonagh and left winger J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a first-round draft pick this year, a conditional first-round pick next year, 25-year-old center Vladislav Namestnikov and two prospects -- 19-year-old center Brett Howden and 20-year-old defenseman Libor Hajek.

The 12th overall pick in the 2007 draft, McDonagh, 28, had played his entire eight-year career in New York, registering 51 goals, 187 assists and 238 points.

Dealing with back spasms this season, McDonagh has played in 49 games, recording two goals and 24 assists (26 points). He has a plus-seven rating.

The two-time All-Star still has one season remaining on the six-year, $28.2 million contract he signed in July 2013.

Miller, 24, was the 15th overall selection in the 2011 draft. In six years with the Rangers, he has 72 goals and 100 assists (172 points). This year, he is second on the Rangers with 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists).

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In Tampa Bay, McDonagh and Miller will be reunited with former Blueshirts teammates Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman.

Miller, who is earning $2.75 million this year, is set to become a restricted free agent after this season.

In an open letter earlier this month, the Rangers, who are in last place in the Metropolitan Division, braced their fans for a major rebuild. They have since dealt defenseman Nick Holden to Boston for defenseman Rob O'Gara; winger Michael Grabner to the Devils for a second-round draft pick this year and defensive prospect Yegor Rykov; and Rick Nash to the Bruins for a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 seventh-round pick, forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey and defenseman Ryan Lindgren.

The Rangers now have 10 picks in June's draft: three in the first round, two in the second round, two in the third round and one each in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.

Namestnikov was the 27th overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Lightning. In four-plus seasons, the Russian has 53 goals, 70 assists for 123 points. He has 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) this season. Namestnikov will be a restricted free agent this summer.

The Lightning drafted both Howden (first round, 27th overall) and Hajek (second round, 37th overall) in 2016. Neither has played in the NHL yet.