Deen’s View: Lindgren Acquisition Addresses Avalanche Need, but Is It Enough? (+)

With the trade deadline just six days away, the Avalanche became the first team within a week of it to make a notable move.

Colorado acquired defenseman Ryan Lindgren, forward Jimmy Vesey, and prospect defenseman Hank Kempf from the New York Rangers for Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen, a conditional second-round pick, and a conditional fourth-round pick.

This is the sixth trade that general manager Chris MacFarland has pulled off since opening night, but it’s likely not going to be the last.

Given the three days off between Friday night’s big win over Minnesota and the next game on Tuesday, it made sense for the Avs to strike this weekend. The expectation is that both Lindgren and Vesey will make their way to Colorado and join the team for practice on Sunday.

What do they bring that the Avalanche valued?

My thoughts on the deal and what I still expect the Avs to accomplish before the 1 p.m. MT trade deadline on Friday.

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It didn’t take long this season for it to be clear that the Avalanche needed help on defense. The top four had been a staple for several years, but the third pair, often comprised of a combination of Sam Malinski, Oliver Kylington, Keaton Middleton, and de Haan wasn’t giving the Avs much.

Add in the Josh Manson injury and the struggles he’s faced when healthy, and you end up with the ice-time allocation you had against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Cale Makar played 29:17, Devon Toews 28:41, and Samuel Girard 20:40. There was a sizeable gap between them and the bottom three, despite Colorado carrying a two-goal lead into the third period. De Haan was next at 13:43 in his final game with the Avs, followed by Kylington at 12:52 and Malinski at 11:11.

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Lindgren is going to help a lot in that aspect. He’s a dependable depth player who, if slotted correctly, could be very useful for the stretch run. He’s a left-shot defenseman, which means he’ll likely be a staple on the third pair behind Toews and Girard. Lingdren averaged nearly 20 minutes per game in New York but won’t need to play that much in Colorado.

It’s worth addressing, too, that his defensive metrics away from Adam Fox are not great. Perhaps a more limited roller with better line matching will remedy that.

Lindgren also plays a ton on the penalty kill. He led the Rangers both in total shorthanded ice time (more than 146 minutes) as well as average ice time per game (2:43). On the PK alone, he’ll be a massive upgrade from de Haan, who played 1:17 with the Avs shorthanded on Friday.

Ultimately, this move is a step in the right direction. But is Lindgren enough?

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The Rangers are eating 50% of his $4.5 million salary, which means Colorado still has upwards of $3 million in deadline cap space to make another move or two.

I wrote in my 10 Observations piece after the Wild game that it wouldn’t surprise me if the Avalanche made two additions on the blueline. It makes sense to shore up the left side with a rental option, but it would be wise for Colorado to address the right side with a player that has term. Manson, even when healthy, shouldn’t be your second-best righty behind Makar. He would slot in nicely with Lindgren on a rough-and-tumble third pair if Colorado finds the right fit to play with Girard elsewhere.

Is this when MacFarland tries to make a splash and acquire Seth Jones? Maybe. But that would require a lot of maneuvering from a salary aspect — both with Chicago retaining a chunk of his $9.5 million and more salary going the other way, like Miles Wood ($2.5 million) and Kylington ($1.1 million), for example.

As for Vesey, the risk and reward aren’t as high, but it’s a safe bet. As long as he’s not the only forward acquired before the deadline, I’m all for him being part of the deal.

Are his offensive numbers great? No, but that’s not why the Avalance acquired him. Vesey is a penalty killer and a high-energy, gritty player.

He also solves an issue I’ve had with the lineup for several months: He provides depth beyond the top 12 forwards. My biggest peave with the Avs’ lineup all year has been the fact that they’ve not had any usable forwards available if even one injury arises. And we’ve seen them play parts of the season without three or four of their regulars all at the same time.

Not only that, but when fully healthy, players like Parker Kelly, Joel Kiviranta, and Wood should be playing with someone breathing down their neck. Their spot shouldn’t be guaranteed.

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Parssinen was a fine player, but he was never going to be a playoff option. He didn’t quite have the physicality to be someone that head coach Jared Bednar would trust with anything more than a handful of shifts.

Even though Vesey’s numbers are not where they once were, he reminds me more of what Colorado had in 2022 with Nicolas Aube-Kubel, a forward who, even when not producing, will play with energy and help in other ways. That’s what this team needed.

But again, all of this only makes sense if they upgrade other parts of their bottom six. If Vesey was acquired to be that upgrade, then MacFarland and the front office dropped the ball. I don’t believe for a second that this is the case, though.

I’m also intrigued by the addition of Hank Kempf. I’ll hold off on breaking down his game until I ask around more about the type of player he is, but there has to be a reason why Colorado asked for him to be included.

Here’s to an exciting and intriguing week ahead.