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Despite a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Friday, the New York Rangers are right on the edge of the East playoff race. And even four points out, it would be hard to doubt their chances. They’ve been to two of the past three Eastern Conference finals and they have Igor Shesterkin, the best goalie of any of the eight teams battling for the two wild-card spots.
But that did not deter general manager Chris Drury from making an absolutely necessary trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Ryan Lindgren played 19:56 per night this season and was the heart and soul of the defense corps. With Adam Fox, Lindgren’s longtime defense partner, sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury, Lindgren would have seemed to be an important piece of whatever the Rangers could accomplish through the end of the season.
Drury, though, understood what needed to be done. And what still needs to be done. The Rangers weren’t signing Lindgren to an extension beyond this season; even though he’s only 27, his rugged playing style has worn him down, and there was real concern that over the life of even a four- or five-year deal, Lindgren just wouldn’t hold up physically.
It will be a blow to the Rangers to lose Lindgren. He’s had a rough season, like so many Rangers, but the way he plays — similar to the way Jacob Trouba played — is not something that’s terribly contagious in the current Rangers room. Drury wants more players with bite; to get there, he had to shed Lindgren, one of the few Rangers who always plays bigger than his size.
Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren were one of the NHL’s top pairs in better years than this one. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
If you’re worried the Rangers will be worse defensively without Lindgren, I’ll respond with a question: How? This team is already 31st in expected goals against at five-on-five and 32nd in xGA on the penalty kill, according to Clear Sight Hockey; so instead of giving up 10 high-danger chances a game, they’ll give up 11 now? Big deal. Either way, one guy, Shesterkin, will determine whether they make the playoffs.
The return is about what the Rangers likely anticipated, which is why Drury didn’t have to wait until closer to Friday’s deadline to say yes to one of the many offers he had for Lindgren. It was always going to be a second-round pick, plus.
Jimmy Vesey going along in this deal sweetened the pot somewhat, even though Vesey on his own was likely to be one of those Friday, 2:55 p.m. deals.
Calvin de Haan has been around the block plenty, and he’ll be able to provide some stability on a completely destabilized D corps. Jusso Parssinen hasn’t really broken through yet, but he’s only 24 and could be an interesting project — plus he’s a young center, which the Rangers have none of in the pipeline.
It’s the second-rounder — which could be the Rangers’ pick that they traded to the Arizona Coyotes three years ago to dump Patrik Nemeth — that makes the difference here. The Rangers had zero second-round picks until 2028 before this trade. Even if they don’t make a pick in June, they at least have another asset to work with.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade grades: Rangers flip pending UFA Lindgren to Avalanche in sensible deal
These were two of the three most obvious assets Drury had to move. Reilly Smith is the other pending unrestricted free agnet on the roster, and his Ranger days are numbered. There’s even less reason to hang onto Smith through Friday than there was to do so with Lindgren, since the Rangers do have some young forwards deserving of a look.
League sources said the Rangers have been in on lots of different discussions in recent weeks. Now that Lindgren and Vesey are off the board and Smith is on the clock, there are a few different paths that Drury could take in the next six days.
• There are some larger trade options on the roster like Chris Kreider or Mika Zibanejad, but it’s probably not realistic to move either this coming week. Zibanejad was one of the leading scorers in the league with 13 points in nine February games, so perhaps he’s earning his keep. Kreider went on injured reserve Saturday, so he’s not exactly an attractive option for other teams.
• K’Andre Miller, who is a pending restricted free agent, does not seem to be on the block at all, executives from two other teams said. Miller has had a poor season, but with Trouba and Lindgren gone and Fox injured, Miller will get a chance to play bigger minutes over the next weeks to see what sort of contract he could get from the Rangers.
• The Rangers are believed to be interested in being a targeted buyer ahead of Friday, but they’re only looking for players with term, and those are looking like coveted assets this deadline. Scott Laughton, a player the Rangers were close to acquiring last season ahead of the deadline, is a very popular player this deadline season. With a year left on his deal at a manageable $3 million cap hit, the Flyers might be willing to move him for the right price, which would likely be a first-round pick. The Rangers, who have already moved either this year’s first or next year’s in the J.T. Miller trade, aren’t going to pay that high of a price.
But they are keeping an eye on some potential No. 3 centers who could help beyond this season. And now, with the second-round pick from the Lindgren deal in hand, Drury has a few days to scour the market and see what he can come up with.
The Sabres’ Ryan McLeod, a pending RFA, could be of interest. Same with the Predators’ Tommy Novak, who has two years left. But the committed sellers haven’t really come to the fore yet beyond a small handful of teams, so prices could stay high on the sort of player the Rangers would like to acquire.
• The Rangers’ 50 percent retention on Lindgren leaves them with two salary-retention slots. They could retain on Smith’s contract, which already is down to a $2.5 million cap hit with Pittsburgh having retained 50 percent when the Rangers acquired him, to gain a better draft pick in return. Without any obvious players to deal after Smith, that last retention slot could go to facilitating a deal between two other teams to add another mid-round pick.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
