When the New York Rangers traded Ryan Lindgren to the Colorado Avalanche at last year’s trade deadline, most analytically minded fans like me felt more relief than anything. The Rangers organization is best known for handing out long-term contracts to aging, declining defensemen. Think back to the contracts of Dan Girardi and Marc Staal, two players who went from being beloved by Rangers to being despised for their on-ice play by Rangers fans. When the Rangers faced their friend last night in Seattle, it was a good time to remember the good.
Ryan Lindgren never quite reached that point with the Rangers, but by the end of his tenure with the team it was clear that the Rangers did not have a player who would be worthy of his next contract. While Lindgren appears to be valued in Seattle, I have no doubt that if the Rangers had retained him, his tenure with the Rangers would have ended much the same as Girardi or Staal’s.
But while Lindgren’s play on the ice was never anything to write home about (though he did have some really strong defensive seasons), I’m not here to dump the former Ranger. I’m actually here to do the opposite.
Ryan Lindgren had everything right with the New York Rangers.
Think back to the 2022 playoff run. A series in which the Rangers were two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. A point in which if the Rangers didn’t lose a game three lead in Tampa Bay, the Rangers would lead 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Before the season, the Rangers weren’t even sure they would make the playoffs. Entering the postseason, many key players had the Rangers losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Instead, the Rangers fought. And moisture. And moisture. And until they finally ran out of gas in game six, the Rangers really gave it everything they had. Honestly, they embodied the spirit of Ryan Lindgren.
While Ryan Lindgren has always been a defensively gifted player, fans picked Lindgren early and often during his Rangers career because he never quit. Even when the Rangers seemed to be sleepwalking, you could always see Lindgren jumping into a scrum, throwing a big punch or playing a key role. We saw Lindgren get bloodied, beaten, and somehow get up every time.
During the 2022 and 2024 runs, the Rangers were the type of team that would never give up. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit in 2022 showed resilience as the 2024 team kept finding ways to win. Some of the best memories many of us will have of the 2020 Rangers teams are the plays and games involving Ryan Lindgren.
Lindgren never wore an A as an alternate captain with the Rangers, but he never needed to. Every night we knew exactly what we were getting out of the defender. Maybe he was never an All-Star defenseman, but he was a player who cared, tried and hustled. Maybe that’s something we’re missing right now.
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