Rangers sign Ryan Lindgren to a one-year deal
New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
No one on the Rangers' roster has shed more blood for the Blueshirts, or more embodies the team’s grit and do-whatever-it-takes mentality than Ryan Lindgren. And on Tuesday, Lindgren and the team agreed to a one-year deal, avoiding salary arbitration with the heart-and-soul defenseman.
The Rangers did not release terms of the deal, but it reportedly is worth $4.5 million.
“I love it here,’’ Lindgren had said at breakup day, when asked about his desire to re-sign with the team. “It's the best. I love the guys here. I love the city, how loyal the fans are, and how much they care about us. So, yeah, I love being here and it's definitely where I want to be.’’
The Rangers can negotiate a contract extension with Lindgren beginning in January.
With Lindgren signed, Rangers general manager Chris Drury can now fully turn his attention to working on contract extensions for goaltender Igor Shesterkin, defenseman K’Andre Miller and forward Alexis Lafreniere, all of whom are entering the final year of their current contracts and eligible to sign new deals. All are in line for major salary increases, with Shesterkin in particular looking at a massive deal that figures to make him the highest-paid Ranger, and perhaps the highest-paid goaltender in the league.
Currently, Artemi Panarin ($11.64 million) has the highest annual average value contract on the team, and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million) has the highest AAV deal of any active goaltender.
Lindgren, 26, played in 76 regular-season games last season and had three goals, 14 assists and a team-best plus/minus rating of plus-22 while serving as a top-pair defenseman with longtime partner Adam Fox. He also was a top-pair defenseman on the penalty kill with captain Jacob Trouba. Lindgren played in all 16 playoff games, recording three assists and plus/minus rating of even.
At breakup day, Lindgren revealed that he had played the entire Eastern Conference final series against Florida with a cracked rib, suffered in Game 6 of the Rangers’ second-round victory over Carolina.
With Drury having previously re-signed RFA Braden Schneider to a two-year, $4.4 million deal, locking up Lindgren brings back six of the top seven defensemen from last season’s roster, after Erik Gustafsson left to sign a two-year deal with Detroit. Zac Jones, the seventh defenseman last season, presumably will replace Gustafsson in the top six.
Trouba, who is believed to have been shopped around earlier this summer in an effort to move all or part of his $8 million salary cap hit, now seems likely to be back when training camp starts. And with young forward Kaapo Kakko still on the roster, the Rangers’ lineup looks set for the fall — and very similar to the group that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season.
The Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Lafreniere line returns intact, with Reilly Smith, acquired in a July 1 trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins in lieu of a bigger free-agent import, expected to slot in on the right side of the Mika Zibanejad-Chris Kreider line. Will Cuylle, Filip Chytil and Kakko look set to be the third line, and last spring’s rookie sensation Matt Rempe seems the favorite to fill out the fourth line, with Jimmy Vesey and free-agent signee Sam Carrick, who replaces Barclay Goodrow.
Jonny Brodzinski is the likely front-runner to be the 13th forward, with Lindgren-Fox, Miller-Schneider and Jones-Trouba making up the defense. Chad Ruhwedel would be in the mix to be the seventh defenseman.
“I think we'll come to training camp and pick up exactly where we left off,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said at breakup day. “Attack the regular season, put ourselves in a position to qualify for the playoffs, get into playoffs, and make as much noise as we can.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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