New York Rangers Expansion Draft Candidate: Oscar Lindberg

The Expansion Draft is right around the corner, and the Rangers are set to lose a valuable member of their team. We’ve discussed plenty of possibilities, but one player’s recent improvement could make him the man to go.

Oscar Lindberg was a man possessed to start his rookie season. Lindberg scored three goals in his first two games with the New York Rangers, earning the praise of his teammates and the coaching staff. Lindberg finished his rookie season with gaudy numbers for a fourth liner, further entrenching his spot in New York’s lineup.

However, Lindberg suffered a hip injury that required off-season surgery. His name fell off the map as he worked to get back into game shape. When he returned to the NHL, it appeared he had done so far earlier than he should have. His play looked uninspired, and he rightfully earned a batch of healthy scratches.

Now Lindberg is healthy and back playing like one of the better fourth liners in the NHL. While that’s fantastic news for the Rangers this season, it could spell trouble for Lindberg and the Rangers when the Expansion Draft arrives.

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Oscar Lindberg: Expansion Draft Candidate

Previously we covered Jesper Fast’s Expansion Draft candidacy. In doing so, we went over the ins and outs of the draft and the Rangers. Click here for the full rundown, but here’s the key part regarding Lindberg:

"Six of Fast, Grabner, Hayes, Kreider, Lindberg, Miller, Stepan, Zibanejad, and Zuccarello can be protected.Hayes, Kreider, Miller, Stepan, Zibanejad, and Zuccarello are sure things. Fast, Grabner, and Lindberg are the odd men out, all valuable options for Las Vegas."

When analyzing the possibility of Fast being the player to go in the Expansion Draft, we argued that the Rangers would trade a forward, protect Michael Grabner, and lose one of Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg. At the time, Fast looked far more valuable than Lindberg.

Now, Lindberg’s offense is back, he looks far more comfortable in the NHL, and suddenly his fantastic rookie season no longer looks like an outlier. With Jesper Fast, we know he will provide 20-30 points and serve as a Swiss-army knife type of bottom six forward.

With Oscar Lindberg, however, there is room for growth. Lindberg scored double digit goals in his rookie season, and would likely have done so in a full season this year as well. Lindberg can play on the penalty kill, and with enough trust from the coaching staff there’s offensive potential as well.

By no means are we claiming Oscar Lindberg is a top six forward, but the question is simple. For a team building from the bottom like Las Vegas, should they take the sure-thing fourth liner like Jesper Fast, or the potential to grow into more fourth liner like Oscar Lindberg?

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That question will be answered in July, as it appears Oscar Lindberg is one of the top candidates to end up in Las Vegas.