Lindgren, Vesey traded to Avalanche by Rangers for de Haan, Parssinen, draft picks

Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey were traded to the Colorado Avalanche by the New York Rangers on Saturday for Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan and conditional second- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The Rangers will retain 50 percent of Lindgren's one-year, $4.5 million contract he signed July 30, 2024. The second-round pick is the better of their own or that of the Carolina Hurricanes. The fourth-round selection is the better of the Avalanche or the Vancouver Canucks.

Lindgren, a 27-year-old defenseman, can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. He played for New York since he was acquired in the trade that sent Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25, 2018.

"I went to the rink yesterday in New York, (Rangers general manager) Chris Drury told me I got traded here, and obviously a lot of emotions go on," Lindgren said Sunday. "But to find out you're coming to Colorado and what a great team they have here, and just meeting all the guys, yeah, I'm just really excited to be here.

"You kind of always see the rumors, especially this time of year. I saw my name floating around, so yeah, I definitely thought it was a possibility, with my contract and everything."

Vesey, a 31-year-old forward and another pending UFA, completed his second stint with the Rangers after signing a one-year contract Oct. 9, 2022. He and Lindgren join an Avalanche team that's 35-24-2, holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, and is three seasons removed from winning the Stanley Cup.

Colorado plays the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, ALT, SNE, TVAS).

"I didn't know how it would work out, obviously into the Deadline this Friday and on an expiring contract," Vesey said. "So figured that was in play, but didn't know what day it would happen, but exciting news and pumped to be here on such a good team."

The Rangers (29-26-4) face the Nashville Predators at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSG 2, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS), five days before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Friday. They're four points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card ifrom the Eastern Conference one season after winning the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in the regular season.

The trades are the latest moves in what has been a season of roster turnover for the Rangers. New York acquired J.T. Miller from Vancouver on Jan. 31 for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and a first-round pick in the 2025 draft.

DefensemanJacob Trouba, who was the New York captain, was sent to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 6 for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft. Kaapo Kakko, a 23-year-old forward chosen with the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, was traded to the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 18 for defenseman Will Borgen and a third- and sixth-round pick in 2025, three days after he was a healthy scratch for a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues.

Adam Fox, Lindgren's longtime defense partner, is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury sustained in a 5-1 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Selected by the Bruins in the second round (No. 49) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Lindgren has 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 54 games this season, 99 points (12 goals, 87 assists) in 387 regular-season games and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 43 playoff games.

"He's just a warrior," Avalanche forward Casey Mittelstadt said. "He's going to play hard, and I think his offensive game is probably a little bit underrated. I think he can really move the puck and make plays in the offensive zone, and on top of that, he'll block any shot. He'll do anything for the team. So just a warrior, and I'll always be happy to have him on my side."

Vesey signed with the Rangers as a UFA on Aug. 19, 2016, after choosing not to sign with the Predators, who chose him in the third round (No. 66) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres on June 20, 2016, but didn't sign with them either. He has six points (four goals, two assists) in 33 games this season, his third after signing a one-year contract Oct. 9, 2022, coming off a professional tryout contact. Vesey has 192 points (100 goals, 92 assists) in 616 regular-season games for the Rangers, Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Canucks and New Jersey Devils, and nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 31 playoff games.

"I think both guys have the ability to help us, so you're getting two veteran players, No. 1," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Lots of experience playing in big games on a big stage, and they both have played well in some of those situations. Obviously, adding Lindgren to our back end, that's a big add for all the reasons that we've talked about at times during the year. The depth, getting another really strong penalty killer, the physicality around the net front and down low in your own zone to be able to help close plays out."

De Haan, a 33-year-old defenseman, was a first-round pick by the Islanders (No. 12) in the 2009 NHL Draft and has 148 points (24 goals, 124 assists) in 676 games over 13 seasons for the Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks and Islanders. He's had at least 100 hits and 100 blocked shots six times in the NHL and has been at least plus-1 in eight seasons.

Parssinen, a 24-year-old forward, has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 37 games this season for the Avalanche and Predators. He played his 100th NHL game Nov. 17 and was traded to Colorado by Nashville on Dec. 28.

The Rangers also traded Hank Kempf to the Avalanche. The unsigned 22-year-old defenseman was a seventh-round pick (No. 208) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report.