EDINA, Minn. — Ryan McDonagh is a little over a week away from returning to Florida to prepare for training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning next month.

The 35-year-old defenseman, who will enter his second stint with the Lightning, said he has never been more focused during a training camp in his NHL career, which is entering its 15th season.

“Anytime an organization puts faith back in you, it means a lot to me,” McDonagh said Wednesday at the Da Beauty League, a 4-on-4 summer league featuring college and NHL players with Minnesota ties. “So you try to do the best you can and focus a lot on skating, going to the gym and getting mentally prepared for a big role.”

McDonagh was acquired on May 21 in a trade with the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, a 2024 seventh-round pick, and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

He played five seasons with the Lightning and was a key part of their Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2020 and 2021, as well as posting an NHL-high plus-18 rating and eight assists in 23 games in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It’s a very special place for me and my family,” McDonagh said. “Two of my kids were born there. Between that and winning, some of the greatest moments I’ve ever had there. And it’s a great community. It’s a great place to raise your kids and a great market to play hockey with an organization behind you. They’re always going to target the Cup, so it’s fun to be a part of that again.”

McDonagh was originally traded to the Lightning on February 26, 2018, by the New York Rangers in exchange for forward JT Miller, forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Brett Howden, defenseman Libor Hajek, a first-round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and a conditional draft pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

He was then traded to Nashville by Tampa Bay for defenseman Philippe Myers and forward prospect Grant Mismash on July 3, 2022. McDonagh had 32 points (three goals, 29 assists) and 139 blocks in 74 regular-season games last season, his second with the Predators, and had one assist in six playoff games.

“Last year was a terrific season for us,” McDonagh said of the Predators (47-30-5), who finished fourth in the Central Division and lost in six games to the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference First Round. “We probably got counted out by a lot of hockey analysts out there, but we had a good run and it was definitely something to be proud of.

“There’s no doubt they’re going to be a tough team to beat this year.”

The Lightning added forwards Jake Guentzel (traded from the Carolina Hurricanes), Cam Atkinson (one-year, $900,000 contract) and Zemgus Girgensons (three-year, $2.55 million contract; average annual value $850,000) this offseason, joining familiar faces Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli at forward.

But McDonagh will have to make his third run with the Lightning without longtime teammate Steven Stamkos. The former Tampa Bay captain signed a four-year, $32 million ($8 million AAV) contract with Nashville on July 1. Stamkos played 16 seasons with Tampa Bay, leading the league in goals (555), points (1,137) and games (1,082). The 34-year-old forward had 81 points (40 goals, 41 assists) in 79 games last season and six points (five goals, one assist) in five playoff games for the Lightning (45-29-8), who finished fourth in the Atlantic Division and fell to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference First Round.

“That’s the business side of hockey,” McDonagh said. “Sometimes things don’t go the way you think they will. For him in particular, I can’t speak for him, but I’m sure he wanted to stay. But I know he’s excited about Nashville, too. It’s a great opportunity for him and a great team there. But for us, we’ve got to move forward, believe in our group and trust the coaching staff to put together a good game plan to fill the void left by ‘Stammer.’ And that’s what we’re going to do. Just keep building from day one of camp.”

That’s when the fight for the trophy begins for McDonagh and Lightning.

“We have a lot of firepower on our roster,” McDonagh said. “We already have an established identity moving forward, but it’s a different group in a sense. But it’s a group that we know we can build with and write our own story with.”

“It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you keep at it, good things can happen. I can’t wait to get started.”