The Colorado Avalanche has addressed a significant need six days ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Colorado is adding defenseman Ryan Lindgren along with depth forward Jimmy Vesey and prospect Hank Kempf in a deal with the New York Rangers for Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen, plus second- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 NHL draft.
Lindgren, 27, is a left-handed defenseman who has been a regular for the Rangers the past six seasons. Listed at 6-feet and 194 pounds, Lindgren is a defense-first defenseman who has spent a lot of time in New York’s top four, averaging between 18:50 and 20:06 of ice time per game over the past five seasons.
The Avalanche has a clear need on the blue line. Colorado has added several options to play on the third pairing since the end of last season, including de Haan as a free agent, but none of them have found a regular, successful spot next to Sam Malinski.
The team has also been without Josh Manson because of an injury, and while he began skating again recently, Avs coach Jared Bednar said there is no timeline for his return.
Lindgren signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract before this season. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent in July.
He has spent a lot of time playing next to star Rangers defenseman Adam Fox on New York’s top pairing. Lindgren has played 611 minutes with Fox at 5-on-5 this season, per Natural Stat Trick. His next most frequent partner, Jacob Trouba at 130 minutes, was traded in early December.
Colorado’s third pairing at the end of last season was Sean Walker and Jack Johnson. Both players left as free agents in the offseason. Malinski won one of the spots in training camp.
The Avs added de Haan, Erik Brannstrom, Oliver Kylington, Jacob MacDonald, Calle Rosen and John Ludvig, but Keaton Middleton, a regular with the Colorado Eagles for the past four seasons, has been the preferred option for the No. 6 role the past couple of months.
Kylington has shown flashes of being the best option, but Bednar called him a “high event” player, and wants him to cut down on mistakes that lead to chances for the other team.
Vesey, 31, has four goals and six points in 33 games for the Rangers this season. He had 24 goals and 51 points while playing in all but three games over the previous two seasons for New York.
He could see time as a bottom-six guy who also kills penalties for the Avalanche. Vesey is in the final season of a two-year contract carrying an $800,000 cap hit and can also be a UFA this summer.
Parssinen, whom the Avs added in a trade in late November, spent some time on the second line this season when Valeri Nichushkin was injured, but he has been a healthy scratch the past two contests since the latter returned. He had two goals and and six points in 22 games with Colorado.
Kempf was a seventh-round pick in 2021 by the Rangers. The 6-foot-2 defenseman has two goals and seven points as a senior at Cornell this season. He can become a free agent in September if the Avs do not sign him to an entry-level contract before then.
Colorado owns two picks in the second and fourth rounds of the 2025 draft. The Rangers will receive the higher selection in both rounds once the order is determined.
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