Only three games in but I'm sensing a disturbing trend from what I've seen so far.
Opposing teams are making sure to hit Ryan Lindgren hard at every opportunity, and some of the hits are borderline dirty. They've hit him from behind into the boards and many hits are high around neck and head.
The kid is tough, but he's got an injury history now and it seems to me that teams are looking to knock him out of the lineup. The Rangers had best take notice and start reacting to this. Otherwise, they'll be without a key player for stretches this season. And their depth on defense is not so great when they have to put Jones in the lineup and slide Gustafson to the pairing with Fox.
I think he gets hit a lot and blocks a lot of shots.... He is not a pussy and does not back away from contact like some of his teammates do. Kid has guts, I for one wish more of his teammates would show some.
If they need me to bleed, then I'll bleed for my team
Unfortunately, his path is similar to Ryan Callahan. He will wear out sooner than later. He is tough as nails, but the opponents give him extra, he dishes out extra, the bad puck bounce always finds a way to hit him and he is average to small in stature.
He has played 60, 51,78, 63 in his 4 full seasons and you know he was hurting in many of the games he was on the ice. I would be inclined to trade him rather than sign him for another 4-6 years and have him only play 50% of the games or even less. It would be a huge hole, but you cannot count on him to hold up the way he plays.
1 Cup in 86 years
2048
I feel the same way, 1000x.....love the player...but logic dictates Rangers need to move him while he still has value and some hockey life left.
Lindgren plays fearless which isn’t exactly smart at the NHL level. You have to be cognizant of being in a dangerous place or area on the ice. Example 1 face first 3-4 ‘ feet from the boards. As a player u avoid that, Lindgren doesn’t. Same as he doesn’t pick his battles taking on all sizes in scrums. As mentioned he’s a poster child for a cap killing next contract. If u pay him what he’s worth he will suck up a lot of money and most likely have injury issues as his body starts to breakdown. The issue with his contract and do u trade him, is the Rangers are not rolling in prospect defensemen. Any trade has to bring back in the Rangers mind, a guy who can play first pair with Fox. Good luck with that variable. It’s going to be a tough decision for Drury. And if traded it will be very hard to get back what they are giving up. A western conference team looking for a playoff push would be very interested, and the Rangers should be looking there to trade him along with a new contract including NMC’s preventing him getting flipped back to a division rival. Even then they are trading their heartbeat.
@c doesn’t make it smart. He could dial it back a wee bit, in the putting himself in vulnerable positions and still be a force out there.
@lafrenger You're right, it's not smart. But it's his nature. Not sure he could change even if he tried.
@lafrenger You're right, it's not smart. But it's his nature. Not sure he could change even if he tried.
And the reason he’s one of the most popular players amongst his peers, and the fans.
I feel the same way, 1000x.....love the player...but logic dictates Rangers need to move him while he still has value and some hockey life left.
He's only 25. Underated. I would compare him to Dan Girardi, only better. A much better skater. Girardi was an effective player right up until he reitred at 35, so Lindgren has plenty of time left. They should be able to resign him for around $4.5 million, which IMO is a bargain. The Rangers are 150-82-27 with him in the lineup, and 29-32-10 without him. This team needs him.
They absolutely need Lindgren. Which is why they need to respond when the opponents take runs at him and throw dirty hits. Would like to see Cuylle go postal on some fool.
Maybe he could pass a little of that fearless trait over to Miller.@c doesn’t make it smart. He could dial it back a wee bit, in the putting himself in vulnerable positions and still be a force out there.
He's only 25. Underated. I would compare him to Dan Girardi, only better. A much better skater. Girardi was an effective player right up until he reitred at 35, so Lindgren has plenty of time left. They should be able to resign him for around $4.5 million, which IMO is a bargain. The Rangers are 150-82-27 with him in the lineup, and 29-32-10 without him. This team needs him.
Except Dan Girardi was durable (15-20 pounds heavier) and played every game while playing big minutes (with the Rangers 22:15).
Girardi's first game was 1-27-2007 at age 23. The rest of that season he played 37 regular season games. Here are Girardi's next 9 seasons until the Rangers bought him out June, 2017:
Girardi :82, 82, 82 , 80, 82, 46 (2012-2013 lockout) 81, 82, 74, 63 (2016-2017)
Lindgren: 60, 51, 78, 63 (18:52min/game) 3 out of his 4 years Lindgren missed 1/3 of the season.
While they have similar games, Lindgren, for whatever reason, gets injured enough to miss many games. That makes him a liability that the Rangers cannot count on or afford. The cap is a killer. If there is no cap you sign him, but there is a cap. The Rangers are clearly a better team with him on the ice, but if he can't play 1/3 of the games due to injury the Rangers need another capable d-man to fill in and that is tough with the cap. Should the Rangers just accept a losing record when Lindgren is hurt? It is only going to get worse as he ages (26 in Feb). This season is only 5 games old and he is already beat up and has missed a game.
I do not think his missing games will stop because this is the only way he can play.
1 Cup in 86 years
2048
If the Rangers were to trade Lindgren, Fox would have a hissy fit. I think Lindgren is here until shit starts falling off him. he bleeds blue.
If they need me to bleed, then I'll bleed for my team
Would you take a 3 year deal for Lindgren in the off-season. How about 4 years?