The Penguins on Tuesday acquired forward Kasperi Kapanen, forward Pontus Aberg, and defense prospect Jesper Lindgren from the Leafs.
The centerpiece of the deal is obviously Kapanen, and Dave, Dejan, and I have all written pieces on him joining the team. Then, given that Aberg is a pending restricted free agent and is under contract in the KHL next season, he might not ever play a game in the organization.
That leaves Lindgren. What kind of a player did the Penguins get with Lindgren? Let's take a look.
JESPER LINDGREN
Position: Defenseman
Drafted: Fourth round, 2015 (95th overall)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 176
Age: 23
Shoots: Right
BACKGROUND
Lindgren's professional career began in Sweden with MODO Hockey, which plays just an hour south of his hometown of Umea. He first spent significant time with MODO in the 2015-16 season, splitting the year between the main club and the junior U20 club. MODO had a terrible season, and was relegated to the second-tier Allsvenskan league for 2016-17.
Lindgren played most of the season -- 50 games -- with MODO in 2016-17, and led MODO defensemen in scoring with three goals and 21 assists. He played on the top pairing and scored two goals and six assists in 43 games.
With MODO remaining in the second-tier Swedish league, Lindgren moved to Finland for the 2017-18 season and joined HPK, a team that finished near the bottom of the Liiga standings that season.
He played on the 2018-19 Liiga champion HPK team along with fellow Penguins prospects Emil Larmi, Niclas Almari, and Valtteri Puustinen. Lindgren and Almari are the two defensemen among that group, and while Lindgren is a righty and Almari is a lefty, they were never paired together. Lindgren primarily played on the second pairing while Almari played on the third.
Lindgren ranked No. 3 among HPK defensemen in ice time that year and attempted the third-most shots on the team, so he played a big role. He recorded two goals and 17 assists in 45 games that year and finished with a 58.3 Corsi For percentage, the second-highest Corsi For percentage among all league defensemen that year.
This past season was Lindgren's first in North America, and he played just 31 AHL games this season, scoring one goal and eight assists, missing some time due to injury and spending some time as a healthy scratch on an underperforming Marlies team.
STRENGTHS
Lindgren is an agile, smooth skater (though not especially fast) and a good passer.
Marlies head coach Greg Moore offered this assessment of Lindgren's game after the AHL season ended when asked by TSN which players impressed him this season.
"Lindgren, really smart, really consistent, really steady," said Moore. "You may not see him as flashy as (Timothy) Liljegren and separate himself but, man, he does a lot of good stuff. He's smart offensively and defensively.
In speaking to Sportsnet, Moore called Lindgren a "pretty steady defenseman" and said that he has "another level" he can get to if he keeps working.
WEAKNESSES
Jim Rutherford made it clear to Dave Molinari on Tuesday that he thinks Lindgren needs to add some size and strength.
“He’s a little on the lighter side," Rutherford said. "If he gets stronger … he’s a prospect.”
Lindgren has always been on the lean side. When he was drafted in 2015 he was listed at 161 pounds, only 15 pounds lighter than he is now. Not surprisingly, he doesn't have the strongest shot, which could be a factor in his lack of production.
CONTRACT
The 2020-21 season will be Lindgren's third and final year of his two-way entry-level contract. He'll be a restricted free agent next summer.
Lindgren's contract carries a $775,833 cap hit at the NHL level, not counting the $132,500 in performance bonuses for which he is eligible. He gets paid $70,000 at the minor-league level.
Lindgren will be exempt from waivers next season and is on track to lose his waivers-exempt status in the 2021-22 season.
Lindgren is currently on loan to his former Swedish club MODO Hockey. Lindgren first played for MODO when it was a member of the Swedish Hockey League, the top men's league in Sweden. MODO was relegated to the second-tier Allsvenskan league in 2016-17 and remains part of Allsvenskan.
Lindgren will return to North America for Pittsburgh's training camp in November and can either play in Wilkes-Barre or go back to Sweden.
WHERE DOES HE FIT?
With the Penguins also moving depth defenseman and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain David Warsofsky in the trade, this looks to be the depth chart for minor-league defensemen under contract next season. Players written in italics are on AHL contracts.
Left defensemen:
Pierre-Olivier Joseph
Kevin Czuczman
Cam Lee
Niclas Almari
Jon Lizotte
Right defensemen:
Josh Maniscalco
Zach Trotman
Jasper Lindgren
Will Reilly
Billy Sweezey
MORE ON THE TRADE
• Rutherford: ‘Solidifies our top-six’
• Kapanen: ‘Super-excited’ to be back
• Kovacevic: Rutherford’s eye always on the prize
