15 Seconds In, Former Avalanche Defenseman Leaves Game After Big Hit

Ryan Lindgren's short stint with the Colorado Avalanche is well in the rearview mirror, but the defenseman made some news Tuesday night.

Lindgren left the Seattle Kraken's game against the Vegas Golden Knights after taking a hit from behind from Vegas forward Marc Gatcomb only 15 seconds into the game.

Lindgren was shaken up on the play but stayed on the bench and continued playing. He did not come back out for the second period, and the Kraken later announced that he would not return because of an upper-body injury.

Nathan MacKinnon following a season-opening win over the Los Angeles Kings.

He finished the game with six shifts and 3:57 of ice time.

The Avalanche acquired Lindgren from the New York Rangers at the 2025 trade deadline. Colorado also received Jimmy Vesey and prospect Hank Kempf, while the Rangers got Calvin de Haan, Juuso Pärssinen and two conditional draft picks.

It was a move that made sense for Colorado at the time. Lindgren was a physical defenseman with plenty of experience, and the Avalanche were looking for help on the blue line. He was also brought in with the possibility of becoming a longer-term replacement for Sam Girard.

Instead, Lindgren spent only a few months in Denver.

He played 18 regular-season games for the Avalanche and had two goals and one assist. He missed the final three games of the regular season before returning for the playoffs.

Colorado used Lindgren against the Dallas Stars in the first round, but the Avalanche were eliminated in seven games.

That ended up being Lindgren's only playoff run with Colorado.

He signed with Seattle during the offseason on a four-year, $18 million contract. The Kraken got 76 games out of him last season, with Lindgren finishing with two goals and seven assists.

He also played in Seattle's first four games this season before Tuesday night.

For the Avalanche, the trade remains a pretty minor footnote in the bigger picture. It also goes down as another Chris MacFarland move that never really came together. Colorado gave up two conditional draft picks and got 18 regular-season games from Lindgren before he left as a free agent.

Lindgren is now in his second season with the Kraken. The next question is how much time he could miss following Tuesday's injury.