2019-20 New York Rangers Report Card: Ryan Lindgren

Ryan Lindgren is just what the New York Rangers need on defense

Today we continue our series of New York Rangers report cards.  In our latest look at the defense, we’ll look back at last season and provide some expectations for the coming season.

Ryan Lindgren:  Grade A-

On the New York Rangers, Ryan Lindgren could be considered a rarity.  He’s a physical blueliner who thinks defense first, allowing his partner, Adam Fox , to exploit his offensive abilities.  In his rookie season, Lindgren was a revelation, the perfect complement to Fox and the top left-shot defenseman on the team.

That’s an awful lot of responsibility to put on the shoulders of a player who just turned 22 in February.  People forget that he came into last season with all of five games of NHL experience.  Expectations weren’t that high for Lindgren who is not physically imposing.  At six feet and 190 pounds, he plays bigger than his size and brings a toughness to the blueline that is lacking on the team.

As an underestimated piece of the Rick Nash trade in 2018, he has made that deal one of the best of the Jeff Gorton era.  His rapid development made it possible for the Blueshirts to trade Brady Skjei and considering the state of the left side of the Rangers’ defense corps, he is virtually untouchable.   That mean he will likely be protected in the upcoming Seattle expansion draft.

His season

Ryan Lindgren played in 60 of the Rangers’ 70 games.  He scored one goal and assisted on 13 others.  While primarily a stay at home defenseman, he was also ready to jump into the play whenever the opportunity arose.  That’s how he scored his first and only NHL goal in November.

For the most part he was content to watch Adam Fox’s back.

The Lindgren/Fox tandem played the most minutes of any team defense pair 5v5.   They were on ice together for 34 goals scored versus 25 goals against, the best percentage of any defense pair on the team.

Lindgren was also more than eager to play physically.  At times during the season, his face looked like it had been run over by a tractor.  He was sixth on the team with 94 hits, but only had one fighting major on the season.

He is best remembered for a check he threw on Joonas Donskoi of Colorado in January.   Avalanche Nazem Kadri retaliated after the check and fought Lindgren, who was bloodied in the fight.

The NHL Department Player Safety held a telephone hearing on the check, but Lindgren was exonerated.  Watching the fight, it might be a good idea for Lindgren to take some boxing lessons.

Lindgren scarcely played on the power play, totaling less than two minutes all season, the fewest by a blueliner on the team  He was fourth in time on ice among defensemen killing penalties.

He was guilty of only 25 giveaways. His 1.50 per game average was the lowest on the team and was half that of players like Tony DeAngelo (2.97) and his defense partner, Fox (2.76).  He averaged 1.69 takeaways per game, second only to Fox who had an extraordinary average of 2.58 takeaways per game.  He was fourth best on the team with a plus/minus rating of +16.

Lindgren had two games with two assists, but couldn’t be consider an offensive threat.  He took 47 shots all season and had only two rush attempts the entire campaign.

The numbers

Games:  60
Goals: 1
Assists: 13
Points: 14
PIMs: 47
Plus/Minus: +16
Blocked shots: 70  (7th most in the NHL among rookie defensemen)
Hits:  94 (4th most in the NHL among rookie defensemen, 6th most on team)
ATOI: 16:34
Giveaways: 25 (1.50 per game)
Takeaways: 28  (1.69 per game)
Corsi–for:  46.7%

Postseason:  Lindgren played all three games in the Stanley Cup Qualifier. He was one of eight Rangers to make the scorecard in the postseason with a single assist. He was fifth on the team in ice time and had an even plus/minus rating. He and Fox were the only defenders who were not on the minus side.

Why the grade?

Ryan Lindgren had an outstanding season as a stay-at-home, physical defenseman.  The fact that he did it as a rookie, with a fellow rookie as his defense partner, makes his season all the more remarkable.   He was consistent all season and had a great role in the success of his defense partner.  The grade is not an A because there needs to be room for improvement.

Expectations

The sophomore jinx looms for Ryan Lindgren along with a number of Ranger rookies from last season. Avoiding it will be crucial for the Blueshirts if they want to have any success this season.  Outside of Lindgren, the Rangers are bereft of quality left-shot defenders and as a result, there had been some discussion of switching up the defense pairings.

Moving Lindgren up to pair with Jacob Trouba has been the subject of speculation. The pair played together at times last season with some success.  The issue is whether David Quinn will want to break up the very successful Fox/Lindgren twosome.  There’s also been some talk of moving Fox  or DeAngelo to the left side and that would shake up the defense pairings.

The key for Lindgren will be for him to continue to do what he is doing.  There is no need for him to contribute greatly on offense since the Blueshirts are loaded in that department.  The hope has to be that the addition of veteran Jack Johnson will help, but perhaps the biggest room for improvement for Lindgren will be with the arrival of defensive coach Jacques Martin.

Remember. Ryan Lindgren is all of 22 years old and has played a grand total of 65 NHL games.  Defenders mature with age and the future bodes well for the young blueliner.

Next, a look at Tony DeAngelo, whose excellence presents a problem for the New York Rangers.