Former Avalanche defenseman Ryan Lindgren heads to Seattle on four-year deal

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Lindgren will be testing the open market in free agency, likely confirming that he will not be returning to Colorado after just two months with the team

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jul 1, 2025, 10:17 AM Updated: 12:00 pm

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UPDATE TO ORIGINAL STORY: Lindgren signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. The $4.5 AAV price tag was one that was clearly too steep for Chris MacFarland and the Avalanche’s front office to justify giving out to Lindgren.

Four for the Warrior! ⚔️

Welcome to The Deep, Ryan Lindgren → https://t.co/B4nM2McsZH pic.twitter.com/4x5LsPcMWg

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 1, 2025

Lindgren is the first former Avalanche player to find a new home in this free agency cycle, with a few more names likely to find new homes in the coming hours.

The Colorado Avalanche made a big move last week to create more cap space by trading away Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The front office was hoping that the move would give them enough cash to retain a couple depth pieces from Jared Bednar’s lineup a season ago, but the move didn’t seem to sway the mind of defenseman Ryan Lindgren.

#GoAvsGo had been engaged on keeping defenseman Ryan Lindgren since clearing out cap space via Charlie Coyle, but sounds like Lindgren will be making it to market.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2025

Lindgren, who was acquired via trade from the New York Rangers back in March, will be hitting the open market despite talks with the Avalanche’s brass to keep him in Colorado for another year. The 27-year-old made $4.5 million last season, and is set to make that same number in Seattle for the next four years.

In 18 regular season games, Lindgren had three points (2G, 1A) for Colorado and was a -1 on the ice. In the playoff series against the Dallas Stars, he had three assists and was a +5 as a part of the third defensive pairing for the burgundy and blue. His production was okay for the role he was in, but not for the price tag he was being paid. Another aspect of Lindgren’s game is the physicality he plays with, as his aggressive style of play will only result in him missing more time as he gets older.

This is the right move for the Avalanche. As seen with Sam Malinski’s contract on Monday, there are plenty of viable options for depth defensemen that don’t cost almost $5 million annually. However, it hurts knowing that MacFarland and the front office gave up a second and a fourth round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, along with young defenseman Calvin de Haan, for a rental player in Lindgren who didn’t do a whole lot or stay for multiple seasons.

NHL free agency officially opened at 10:00 a.m. MDT on Tuesday, as the Avalanche now have the ability to make the last handful of moves to finalize the team’s roster for the 2025-26 season.