Seattle Kraken Position Group Overviews: Defensemen
With about a month until training camp is underway, Emerald City Spectrum is taking a look at each of the Seattle Kraken’s position groups heading into the season. After breaking down the goaltending situation last time, we’re looking at the defensemen today.
Seattle Kraken GM Jason Botterill’s most significant investment of the offseason came on the blue line, when he signed Ryan Lindgren to a four-year, $18 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) after free agency opened on July 1.
The 27-year old left-shot is coming off a rental stint with the Colorado Avalanche, where he was sent before the trade deadline after six-plus seasons with the New York Rangers. Often paired with star blue-liner Adam Fox while in New York, Lindgren is a defensive defenseman that has plenty of experience matching up against opposing top-six lines.
After his trade to Colorado, Lindgren spent most of his time paired with Sam Malinski in the regular season, but then jumped in alongside Josh Manson for the majority of the postseason following Manson’s return from an upper-body injury.
Colorado fell in a tough seven-game series against the Dallas Stars in the first round, but Lindgren fared well at 5-on-5 when playing with Manson (53.7 Corsi For Percentage) and Malinski (59.18 CF%).
The left side of the Kraken’s defensive corps is crowded on paper with the addition of Lindgren, but Botterill & Co. clearly hope he can be a stabilizing presence in the top four and fit in with coach Lane Lambert’s defensive-oriented structure.
As for the rest of the top four, Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson are expected to remain the team’s top pair, while the preseason will likely determine whether Brandon Montour spends more time paired with Lindgren or Jamie Oleksiak.
Lindgren’s signing puts Oleksiak’s future with the franchise in doubt beyond 2026. The 6-7 left-shot turns 33 this season, the final one in a five-year, $23 million deal ($4.6 million AAV) he signed with Seattle in 2021. After Lindgren signed, there was speculation the Kraken may trade Oleksiak, but at this stage it appears the team will roll with the depth of rostering both.
Of course, if the team is looking at a third straight season outside the playoff bubble by the time the 2026 trade deadline comes around, a defenseman of Oleksiak’s size on an expiring contract could be an attractive rental option for contenders.
Oleksiak has a 16-team no-trade clause, according to PuckPedia, which could make a deal more difficult to come by, but chances are the teams bidding for his services would be attractive landing spots as playoff contenders.
On the flip side, if the Kraken perform better than expected this year and find themselves chasing a playoff spot, they’ll already have the defensive depth that all contenders crave when it comes to the final stretch.
Rounding out the group is Ryker Evans, and the 23-year old will start the year playing on his off-side opposite either Oleksiak or Lindgren on the third pair. That leaves Josh Mahura in the No. 7 spot, rotating in the lineup occasionally and serving as the “next man up” in case of injury.
As a whole, the addition of Lindgren should solidify this group, but time will tell whether or not they all mesh in Lambert’s system.
