It is universally acknowledged that the intangibles Ryan Lindgren brings to the room and on the ice cannot be quantified. The problem, however, is that the Rangers and Defenseman will be forced to do just that with No. 55 who will be available in restricted free agency with arbitration rights this summer.
More importantly, Lindgren is only one year away from unrestricted free agency, so a one-year deal won’t be enough. The Blueshirts will have to find an agreement for an extension of several years.
There was no fuss or hassle last time around when Lindgren moved up for three years at $9 million with an annual cap hit of $3 million within a day of the 2020-21 season closing. This was indeed Chris Drury’s first task after replacing Jeff Gorton as general manager. The Blueshirts can only hope the process goes as smoothly this time.
The Rangers have eight games remaining to win the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time since 1992 (1992, 1994, 2015), starting with the Penguins’ first visit of the season on Monday. Securing home-ice advantage for all four potential rounds of the playoffs is the first order of business for this group which is on another qualifying game – five in a row – and is 21-4-1 since on January 27.
But there’s no harm in anticipating what the Rangers will face this offseason, even if everyone’s fate will be determined over the next 11 or 12 weeks. There will surely be an A column if the Rangers go deep and a B column if calamity strikes. Futures will be in play.
Lindgren, however, should be in both columns regardless of how this all plays out. There’s no more well-known quantity on the Rangers than this left-handed defenseman, who is just 26 years old and one of the prizes from the 2018 and 2019 deadline purges.
Here’s one. Did you know that Lindgren was selected 17 spots ahead of Adam Fox in the 2016 draft in which number 55 was chosen by Boston and number 23 by Calgary? The two men, first united nine years ago in the USNDT U17, will line up against Pittsburgh for their 298th NHL game as a tandem.
There are 19 defensive pairs in the NHL that have played at least 750 minutes at five-on-five. The Lindgren-Fox duo has the best goal differential in the league at 64.15 percent (34 for, 19 against). And of the 4,158:43 that Fox and Lindgren played as a duo starting in the October 29, 2019 game against Tampa Bay, they scored 194 goals and 129 goals against for a percentage of 60.06. Not too bad.
There is still concern that Lindgren’s body could collapse. But it’s become sort of a running joke. Yes, there’s a price to pay for putting his (listed) 6-foot, 190-pound body on the line every shift – and don’t forget his face! – but Lindgren hardly seems to be burning out. Obviously he had a backlog of stock on hand at the auto body parts store.
The blue-collar ethic is vital for a team that has always been a white-glove operation. Head coach Peter Laviolette split his pairs five-on-five to elevate Lindgren on the first penalty-killed unit with Jacob Trouba. The club has thrived in this area, fourth in the league in PK at 83.3 percent, with Lindgren’s 2:42 of shorthanded ice time per second to the captain’s 2:55. What you see is what you get.
Drury’s cap massage last summer probably didn’t get enough credit as he or the general manager deserves. Heading into free agency, the Rangers had $11.7 million to fill eight spots, including those reserved for restricted free agents K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere. The club hasn’t lost anyone of value while building a 50-24-4 roster.
The pressure will ease next summer. The cap is expected to increase to approximately $87.5 million. If that’s the case, the Rangers would reach July 1 with about $11.7 million in cap space, give or take, with four or five spots to fill, including Lindgren and fellow restricted free agent Kaapo Kakko. There could be an additional $4.4375 million if Filip Chytil can’t return.
Let’s face it. The pipeline is not overflowing with left-wing advocates. Erik Gustafsson is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent and can leave. That would leave Miller, Zac Jones, Connor Mackey, Ben Harpur and Brandon Scanlin on the depth chart with Lindgren, while Drew Fortescue begins his second year at Boston College.
It’s difficult to identify a comparable with the Blueshirts’ Ol’ Blood and Guts. He’s a top-four player on one of the league’s best teams, valued for his work ethic and leadership, but with modest offensive stats.
I don’t know, $4 million a year for four years; $4.5 million a year for five years?
Too much? Not enough? I don’t know. But I know it’s vital that the Rangers don’t let Lindgren get away. I am convinced that Drury shares this opinion. Who would be on Fox’s left side for the Cup rehearsal?
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