TAMPA — One of the things that’s made Ryan McDonagh such a stalwart defenseman in the NHL is his attention to detail. The original art piece the Lightning presented to him Saturday to commemorate his 1,000th career contest was, in a special way, truly representative of that.
McDonagh’s milestone, which he reached Thursday against Utah, was celebrated before Saturday’s game against the Islanders at Amalie Arena. Among the gifts he received was a 2-by-3-foot illustration of him lifting the Stanley Cup, done by Savannah, Georgia-based artist Jayce Hall.
But you’ll have to look closely to see the true message of what McDonagh has meant to those who have played with him in Tampa.
Lightning players were asked to submit words that describe McDonagh. The six most popular — leader, warrior, selfless, gamer, mentor and dad — were given to Hall, who creates his art by repeating words, names and phrases using pens, markers and acrylic paint pens.
“I really did enjoy this project and the collaborative aspect of it, getting these descriptor words from the team,” said Hall, 29, who is working to open his own studio in Savannah. “I think that was really cool to make the piece up that way. I just think it’s a really cool overall piece.
“Since so few people do this style, we all kind of have our own directions that we go in. I want my drawings to be as realistic as I can, which is pretty fun.”
The piece took Hall about 19 hours. It’s his first commissioned by an NHL team, though he’s done drawings for others in the league. Those included one of former goaltender Carey Price during the Canadiens’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 (they lost to the Lightning in five games) and one commemorating the Bruins retiring the number of Willie O’Ree, who broke the league’s color barrier in 1958.
During Saturday’s ceremony, McDonagh received a video tribute that began with his three children, daughters Falan and Nola, and son Murphy telling him congratulations, and a message from his father, Sean. He also received congratulatory messages from former teammates Dan Girardi, Zach Bogosian, Pat Maroon, Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos.
McDonagh also was presented with a commemorative engraved Tiffany crystal from the league by former teammate Kevin Shattenkirk, a Rolex watch from his teammates delivered by Victor Hedman, and a silver stick presented by owner Jeff Vinik.
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