Kraken open free agency period by signing defenseman Ryan Lindgren
The Seattle Kraken signed unrestricted free agent Ryan Lindgren, a defenseman, to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $4.5 million hours after the UFA window opened.
Lindgren, 27, is a penalty killer and a left-shot, shutdown blueliner who played six seasons with the New York Rangers, often in the top four alongside Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox. The Colorado Avalanche acquired him at the trade deadline and he played 18 regular-season games with them. Lindgren chipped in three assists as Colorado was eliminated seven games into their playoff run by the Dallas Stars.
“Ryan’s a heart-and-soul player who competes every shift,” GM Jason Botterill said in a team release. “He does whatever it takes to win and has been a key fixture on the penalty kill throughout his career. We’re excited to welcome him to the team.”
The Kraken appeared to be bringing back the same six-man defensive unit they ended the 2024-25 season with. They re-upped Josh Mahura, their lowest-ranking defenseman for most of last season, and made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Ryker Evans on Monday afternoon. Both members of the Kraken’s longtime top defensive pairing, Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn, are under contract for at least two more years. Brandon Montour is set to be a member of the Kraken until 2031, with a cap hit of more than $7 million, and Jamie Oleksiak is in the final season of a five-year deal.
Lindgren’s addition could mean they intend to deal someone. Dunn would certainly fetch a fair price, but he’s a player they were ostensibly building around. Oleksiak plays on the same side, is closer to unrestricted free agency and his name was tossed around at the trade deadline.
Perhaps Lindgren will fill in that last LD spot and Mahura will slide back to “7D,” or an extra defenseman role, which is where he was at the start of last season before Dunn was injured and Will Borgen was traded to the Rangers.
Lindgren isn’t the star forward the Kraken notably lack, but that deal looked less and less likely to happen this July 1. What’s usually dubbed the NHL’s free-agent frenzy lost a lot of its intrigue as one at a time, over the past few days, the big names re-signed with their former clubs. Toronto dealt the most sought-after pending UFA, Mitch Marner, to the Vegas Golden Knights before he could hit the open market. Career Winnipeg Jets left winger Nikolaj Ehlers is still out there, but he reportedly won’t sign anywhere right away.
Original Kraken member Brandon Tanev found a home in Utah. He signed a three-year, $2.5 million AAV deal with the newly named Mammoth. That’s a million less than he made annually in Seattle. He’s with Spokane native and former Kraken forward Kailer Yamamoto, who re-signed with Utah.
This story will be updated.