Snapshots: Lindgren, Lightning, Canucks

Ryan Lindgren has grown into an important top-four fixture for the New York Rangers, and he’s undoubtedly a player the team would like to retain for quite a while after this season. He’s currently eligible for a contract extension ahead of hitting restricted free agency next summer, but it could be an all-or-nothing situation, says The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. He posits the Rangers likely won’t go short-term with Lindgren, instead trying to work out a long-term, low-AAV extension or look to move him if they aren’t close on a deal.

The 2016 second-round pick has had some truly great defensive performances since turning into a full-timer with the Rangers, giving the team a dependable partner for star defender Adam Fox. While he’s shown the ability to log 20-plus minutes per game consistently, he’s yet to play a full 82 games in a season and is quickly becoming no stranger to injuries. He missed significant time at the tail end of 2022-23 with a shoulder issue.

More from around the NHL today:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning have added a new face to their pro coaching staff, appointing 26-year-old Jacob Wheeler as the video coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch today, per a team release. He replaces the outgoing Joe Palmer, who had served as a dual goalie coach/video coach since 2019-20 but was part of a complete staff overhaul in Syracuse this offseason. Wheeler joins the staff of new Crunch head coach Joël Bouchard, now on his third AHL organization after head coaching stints with the Laval Rocket and San Diego Gulls. Wheeler had spent the last two seasons as the video coordinator for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen.
• The AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks added four players today on one-year deals for next season: forward Josh Passolt, defensemen Derek Daschke and Michael Joyaux, and goaltender Jonathan Lemieux. They’re all likely destined for ECHL assignment next season, although Passolt could try and carve out a bottom-six role in Abbotsford after appearing in five playoff games for the Rochester Americans en route to their run to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Final last year.