Ryan Lindgren Fast Facts
Number: 55 Position: Defense
DOB: 2/11/98 Hometown: Burnsville, Minn. Height: 6-0 Weight: 194
How Acquired By Kraken: 2025 Free Agent
NHL Seasons as of 2025: 7
Previous NHL Teams: Rangers, 2018-2025; Colorado (18 games) 2025
Career Bests: Goals-4 (’21-’22, ’24-’25), Points-22 (2024-25), +/- +29 (2022-23)
Notable: Ryan’s brother Charlie is a goaltender for Washington.
The NHL doesn’t keep “bruises caused by pucks” as an official statistic, but if they did, new Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren would surely be among the league leaders. (The Kraken signed the Minneapolis native to a four-year, $18 million free agent contract.) Ryan had 128 blocks in 72 games for the Rangers and Avalanche last season, and 593 in his career.
Rangers site BlueSeatBlog.com says, “Lindgren is an absolute warrior. He must have been forged with Valyrian steel, as I can think of no other who has put his body on the line so many times and is still able to lace them up for 90% of the season.”
Glenn Dreyfuss, DJLR: “You make it your business to get in the way. How do you learn to do that, and isn’t it a painful way to make a living?”
Ryan Lindgren, Kraken defenseman: “Maybe coming from a family of goalies. My dad was a goalie, my two older brothers both played goalie. Just might be in my blood a little bit, you know?
“It can be painful at times, but, you know, I just try to do anything I can to help the team. I spent a lot of a lot of time on the penalty kill over the last couple of years. I think that’s a big part of (the PK), too, is getting your body in front of the shot and doing whatever you can to help the goalie.”
Ryan’s brother Andrew was a college goalie at St. John’s University in Minnesota. Brother Charlie is a Washington Capitals goalie, a Metro Division rival when Ryan patrolled the blue line for the Blueshirts.
Glenn: “Is Charlie happy that you’re staying in the Western Conference?”
Ryan: “It was always fun to try to try to put one by him, which I never did. We’ll still play two times (per season) the next couple of years. So there’s still a couple of opportunities. But, you know, he’s just real happy for me. He’s been such a big part of my life and my hockey career. He was with me this whole process.”
Lindgren has an easy explanation about why he pursued a career on defense, not in goal.
“I tried it when I was really young, probably five or six years old. I think I let in ten or 11 goals. After the final goal, I kind of laid there on the ice, was crying. My dad had to come out, get me up. And ever since then, I never put on the pads again.”
Lindgren, 27, set career highs in assists (18) and points (22) and tied his personal best in goals (4) in 72 regular-season games last season. He recorded 19 points in 54 games with the Rangers before he was traded to the Avalanche on March 1.
A penalty-killing specialist, “Lindgren is a tough defensive defenseman who leaves it all on the ice,” says scout Jason Bukala at Sportsnet.com. “Lindgren averaged 19-20 minutes per game for the past three seasons, with almost all of his ice time coming at even strength and the penalty kill. Most impressive, especially given his role, is the fact that Lindgren is a healthy (+99)
“He matches up against top-six opponents, provides mid-range physical push back and has no issues getting in the lane to block shots. He has been one of the Rangers’ leading shot blockers. What comes with that style of play, however, is a question of durability as the games get tougher late in the season and into the playoffs.”