The Colorado Avalanche and the New York Rangers may be getting the 2025 trade deadline week started. Today they announced a trade of Ryan Lindgren for Calvin de Haan with another player to each team, and two picks to the Rangers. Also changing teams is Jimmy Vesey and Juuso Parssinen. Furthermore, as part of the trade, the Rangers will retain 50% of Lindgren’s salary. The Avs also retain the rights to Hank Kempf. The picks are a second and a fourth rounder in 2025.
The Rangers Trade involving Ryan Lindgren to Avalanche for Calvin de Hann
Let’s start with the two, now former, Avalanche players in de Hann and Parssinen. The first, de Hann is having a decent season, playing around 15 minutes a game through 44 games. Furthermore, de Hann is a 13-year veteran, and the Rangers will become his sixth NHL franchise. He started his career crosstown with the New York Islanders. Next, Parssinen has been a depth piece for the Avalanche forward group. In 22 games, he has six points, playing under ten minutes a game. It’s a shakeup for the Rangers to be sure, especially when you think about stocking draft picks. This is a team that expects to perform in the players, so perhaps we are seeing a slight shift in mentality.
Calvin de Haan is also going to Rangers. Some draft picks part of this deal, too https://t.co/6niRD4w7Sy
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 1, 2025
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Well the Colorado Avalanche definitely had some roster uncertainty. After the Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas deal, you knew it was a the potential to turn into something significant.
Who the Avalanche are Acquiring
Now, acquiring Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren is a sign they wanted to further improve their roster talent base. They wanted to be deeper. The 31 year old has proven to be reliable in the past in limited ice time. That is a very important trait. Moreover, this year he only has six points in 33 games playing just over ten-and-a-half minutes a game. It is actually the lowest ice time of his career. Maybe the trade will revitalize him.
The story of Lindgren is that he has represented his native United States on the international level. He was part of the gold-medal winning squad at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The former University of Minnesota product also won a bronze at the 2018 World Juniors. He’s also the brother of Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren.
Also, picking up Ryan Lindgren is an underrated move. He is a very durable defender and plays with grit, a bonus for the playoffs. This year he has 19 points in 54 games, in nearly 20 minutes a night. He is what this trade was about for Colorado. They wanted to depth on the blueline clearly, and they achieved that task.
What it Means
This seemed be a numbers decision on why the veteran defenceman was moved. Rangers general manager Chris Drury seemingly made his decision on the future when he signed Will Borgen to a contract extension. It also seems like Drury wants to make sure he signs other key youngsters like K’Andre Miller and Will Cuylle before other teams come calling. Lindgren has a $4.5 million cap hit and a big raise is likely coming.
The veteran defender formed a strong partnership with Adam Fox. However, he’s had some struggles for a Rangers team that was expected to do good things. Lindgren is still a high-character player that can be a physical player for a team.
This trade was an impact move by both teams, even if it didn’t add the biggest of names. Ryan Lindgren, but also Calvin de Hann, are important pieces of potential playoff rosters, if it gets to that point for both teams. For now, it looks like general manager Chris MacFarland is doing everything he can to make the team a more complete one, top to bottom, in order to best position themselves for a long playoff.
Main photo by: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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