Rangers ‘right there’ as Stanley Cup contender, Ryan Lindgren believes: report

There are many reasons why Ryan Lindgren is happy to have signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the New York Rangers earlier in the week. Not the least of which is the opportunity to make another run at the Stanley Cup this upcoming season.

“It seems like we’re right there,” Lindgren told NHL.com on Wednesday at Da Beauty League, a 4-on-4 summer league in his home state of Minnesota.

“The Eastern Conference Final last year we came up short, we lost to a really good Florida team, but we were right there with them. You just realize how hard it is. It’s a grind to get to that point. We had a real good regular season but that doesn’t mean much when you go into the playoffs.”

The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top regular-season team in the NHL last season, and established franchise records for wins (55) and points (114). After winning their first seven games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they found a way to finish off the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round before losing in six games to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.

That’s the second time in three years Lindgren and the Rangers came within two wins of reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Now, the 26-year-old defenseman is ready to take another run at it, in what could be his final season playing for the Rangers.

Lindgren can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. It will be his best chance at a significant longer-term contract. But the timing is not great for the Rangers , who’ll need to re-sign Igor Shesterkin, an unrestricted free agent seeking to become the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, and restricted free agents Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, who’ll be arbitration eligible and looking for major raises.

“I just try not to think about it as much you can,” Lindgren explained. “Just go out there, play and have fun. If the team is successful, then you’re going to be successful. That’s all that really matters.

“But I want to be in New York. That’s all I’ve known for the past six years now. I love being there. I want to be there as long as I can.”

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Lindgren has been a staple on the Rangers blue line, pairing with Adam Fox since the 2019-20 season. He’s a heart-and-soul member of the Blueshirts core, one voted as winner of the Players Player Award in 2022-23, the same season Rangers fans voted him the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette is of many who’s referred to Lindgren as a “warrior” for his willingness to play through injury and pain, and put the team first at all times. His rugged stay-at-home style is an excellent fit with Fox, who has scored 70+ points each of the past three seasons and won the Norris Trophy as top NHL defenseman in 2020-21.

Points do not define Lindgren, who had 17 last season and has never surpassed 18 in the NHL. But his play style gives the Rangers as much pause on a long-term contract as their other financial commitments ahead of the 2025-26 season. Though a contract extension or free agent contract next July are certainly not out of the question.

For now, though, Lindgren says he’s just “real happy” to have avoided arbitration — the hearing was scheduled for Friday — and is eager to return to New York for another season with a legit Stanley Cup contender.

“It’s a great city, it’s a great team, so I’m really excited for next year.”

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