Ryan Lindgren is in line to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming 2024-25 season after the 26-year-old defenseman signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

Now, much could happen in the next 11 months that may alter Lindgren’s UFA standing. He could sign an extension with the Rangers after January 1 which would wipe out his first years of free agency, depending on the length of the deal. He could have a fantastic season and price himself out of New York’s budget next summer. He could struggle or have an injury-plagued season that hurts his value and/or standing with the Rangers and other interested teams. He could help the Rangers win the Stanley Cup and ride out of New York as a hero.

Simply, we don’t know what will happen between now and then.

But as it stands today, Lindgren is one of the more intriguing defensemen who’d be available next July 1.

Lindgren’s a warrior, who consistently plays through painful injuries and puts the team first, playing a punishing brand of hockey. He’s been a top-pair defenseman since the turn of the decade, and one of the better penalty-killers in the NHL. He’s played 43 Stanley Cup Playoff games and helped the Rangers reach the conference final twice in the past three years.

There’s a lot to like about Lindgren.

The flip side is that he’s coming off the worst metrics of his NHL career last season and his play style lends itself to injury and perhaps a shorter effective career span. Hence the Rangers opting for a one-year deal here and not a slam-dunk multi-year contract. He’s also never scored more than 18 points in a season.

Of course, New York will also be pressed tight against the salary cap next summer after deals are worked out with Igor Shesterkin (UFA), Alexis Lafreniere (RFA) and K’Andre Miller (RFA).

So, Lindgren’s path is uncertain. But for this exercise, let’s examine where he stands today among the other pending free-agent defensemen (all salary information courtesy of Puck Pedia).

Rangers’ Ryan Lindgren among top free-agent defensemen in 2025

The two names that pop out immediately when looking at those who could be free agents next summer are recent Stanley Cup champions Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers and Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights. Each is in a different league than Lindgren and will command more attention and money, though like the Rangers blueliner, each comes with injury concerns.

Each is a a top-pair defenseman, though Ekblad is a right-hand shot and Theodore is a solid puck mover and offensive force, who has 40+ points in five straight seasons, including 42 in 47 games last season.

Better direct comparisons to Lindgren are Columbus Blue Jackets blueliner Ivan Provorov, Vladislav Gavrikov of the Los Angeles Kings and Marcus Pettersson of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Each plays the left side and is similar in age to Lindgren — Pettersson and Gavrikov are two years older and Provorov has a year on him.

Gavrikov currently makes the highest salary in this group ($5.875 million), followed by Provorov ($4.725 million), Lindgren ($4.5 million) and Pettersson ($4.025 million). Each logs more ice time than Lindgren because he doesn’t skate on the power play, and the other three produce more offensive than him, most notably Provorov who’s totaled 30+ points five times. Provorov is also much more durable, having played all 82 games five times, including each of the past two seasons.

Lindgren’s 333 NHL games are last on this list, far behind Provorov (614) and more in line with Gavrikov (353). Pettersson probably flies under the radar more than the others here. He had the most ice time last season (22:40) and was plus-28 on a non-playoff team.

Depending on what interested in teams are looking for specifically, it’s fair to include Lindgren among these defensemen.

Then there’s a few older left-shot defensemen, who’ll draw interest on the market, including Dmitry Orlov who’ll skate on the top pairing for the Carolina Hurricanes this coming season and carries a $7.75 million cap hit. There’s also Esa Lindell (30) of the Dallas Stars, Alec Martinez (37) of the Chicago Blackhawks and Adam Larsson (31) of the Seattle Kraken.

On the right side, after Ekblad, there’s Cody Ceci of the Edmonton Oilers, Brent Burns (who’ll be 40) of the Hurricanes and 25-year-old Henri Jokiharju of the Buffalo Sabres.