Ryan Lindgren‘s future with the Rangers is a topic not many want to discuss, but will creep into the daily discussions pretty quickly. The 25 year old (26 in February) defenseman is entering the final year of his $3 million contract, and will be a restricted free agent next summer. Naturally, there is concern over his next contract, and there is no clear cut answer on how to manage his next contract, whether it’s with the Rangers or not.
The concern isn’t necessarily with Lindgren right now. He’s a top pairing defenseman on a team with a strong (on paper) blue line. It’s clear the Rangers miss him when he’s not in the lineup. However he’s oft injured and he’s going to get expensive. There are too many cases in Rangers history –Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Kevin Klein– where aging defensemen playing a similar style were re-signed and aged poorly. It’s a lesson the Rangers would be best to learn quickly.
There aren’t many options when it comes to Ryan Lindgren’s future, and most proposals are usually grouped into three categories:
- Re-sign him at all costs
- Trade him before it gets ugly
- Wait and see
The case for re-signing Lindgren
It’s not really hard to build a case for the Rangers to re-sign Lindgren. After all, he’s a top pairing defenseman on a team that has a pretty strong defensive group. More structure, growth, and consistent play without him will make the bottom four look better, but for now Lindgren is one-half of by far the Rangers best defense pairing.
Lindgren is exactly what you expect him to be – an all defense, minimal offense player and a great complement to Adam Fox. There are some aspects to his offensive game which shouldn’t be ignored, specifically how his GF/60 and GAR numbers wildly outperform is xGF and xGAR numbers, but that’s likely a product of the Rangers high-skill, minimal possession game the last few seasons.
Lindgren is a one dimensional defenseman, which is fine. He has a role and he fills it exceptionally well. It is humorous how people will say one dimensional defense-first players are fine but one dimensional offense-first players are not, but I digress.
Per Evolving-Hockey, if the Rangers are to re-sign Lindgren during next season, he’d come in around 3-4 years and a max of $3.75 million. It’s too early to take these estimates as gospel, of course, and it already seems odd that he’d only come in at $750k more. Something seems off, and I’m more inclined to believe Lindgren is likely going to get close to $5 million, cap ceiling dependent.
If he wants 3-4 years and is ok with under $4 million, then Ryan Lindgren’s future in New York is secure through that next contract. That’s the only scenario that becomes fool proof. But again, that seems unlikely.
Trade him before it gets ugly
Before jumping to conclusions, this only assumes a good enough package to pry Lindgren away from the Rangers presents itself. The general premise is that it’s better to trade a player one year too soon rather than one year too late. One year too soon nets you Mika Zibanejad for Derick Brassard. One year too late, and you attach a draft pick to move a contract.
Ryan Lindgren’s future likely doesn’t have an imminent trade. There aren’t many situations where the Rangers are looking to shed Lindgren and Barclay Goodrow, and the latter is the most likely to go in any salary dump scenario. That said, and this is taking a leap of faith in Peter Laviolette and his coaching staff, Lindgren’s skill set on the ice is replaceable. If both Matthew Robertson and Zac Jones impress in camp, and K’Andre Miller is locked in, then Lindgren becomes the odd man out.
Given Lindgren’s injury history and how poorly players with his style age, it may be a good idea to explore trades this season and next. If an offer exists that the Rangers can’t refuse, then so be it. Remember, Lindgren is likely the only tradeable asset on the Rangers roster that can net them a cost controlled top-six right winger with term, something they desperately need.
Ryan Lindgren’s future is more about wait and see
The salary cap will play a significant role in Ryan Lindgren’s future with the Rangers. Chris Drury is also incredibly methodical, so he won’t rush into a decision until he has all the information. If Ryan Lindgren’s future is with the Rangers, at least through his next contract, then it will be determined by the salary cap ceiling.
Lindgren’s contract demands will play a role here too. We assume he will accept a 4 year term, bringing him to 30 years old, but what if he pushes for 7 or 8 years? How much of a risk will the Rangers be willing to accept?
While Ryan Lindgren’s future with the Rangers isn’t clear at the moment, we will get some level of clarity over the next few months and into next season. He may price himself out. He may take a home town discount. Or he may simply come in at market value with an increased salary cap.
Share:
More About:Players