Ryan Lindgren has a reputation for taking the hard road, and Seattle is counting on that same brand of hockey to show up again this season.
The Kraken left-shot defenseman enters the second year of the four-year deal he signed July 1, 2025, a contract worth $4.5 million per season - the most he’s ever made in a year. For a player who has built his game around sacrifice and quiet work, the money comes with a simple expectation: stay on the ice, hold up his end, and help stabilize a team that needs more from its defensive group.
That’s easier said than done. Lindgren has never played a full 82-game season, so durability is part of the story every time he laces them up. Seattle also needs him to contribute in more than one area, both at even strength and on the penalty kill, where the Kraken were far too soft last season.
“He does whatever it takes to win and has been a key fixture on the penalty kill throughout his career,” Kraken GM Jason Botterill said at the time of the signing.
That last piece is exactly what Seattle is hoping to see translate. Lindgren has long been the kind of player teammates and coaches trust because he doesn’t mind paying a price.
It’s the same selfless style that had Rangers fans reacting with “That’s our boy!” after he took a puck to the head early in his Kraken tenure, a reminder of the way he has always played.
The production has been uneven, though not without some intrigue. In 2024-25, his final season before Seattle, Lindgren had the least impressive fancy defensive numbers of his career but also the best offensive output, putting up a career-high 22 points in 54 games with the Rangers and another 18 with the Colorado Avalanche after he was dealt at the trade deadline for a playoff push.
Once he arrived in Seattle, that scoring bump disappeared. Lindgren finished with nine points in 76 games for the Kraken, a number that fits the role he was asked to play: dependable, physical, and largely unflashy. At his salary, that kind of steady defensive work matters, especially with Cale Fleury likely alongside him on the third pair.
Lindgren didn’t even meet with the media on April 17 after the season ended, which says plenty about the kind of player he is. Low key almost to a fault, he’d probably prefer his game do the talking anyway.
For Seattle, that’s the point. This is supposed to be Ryan Lindgren’s prime.
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Beniers described that loss as a difficult moment to absorb, especially with so much still ahead in the event. The bigger picture, though, flipped in the final, where Team USA met Switzerland again and edged out a 1-0 overtime win to claim gold, turning an early frustration into the kind of finish every national team dreams about. [Read more 🡒]