After landing goaltender Darcy Kuemper, the Washington Capitals wasted no time finding a backup. Washington signed Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal worth $3.3 million, equaling a $1.1 average annual value.
The Capitals gutted the top of their organizational depth chart at goaltender. Washington traded Vitek Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils; allowed Ilya Samsonov to become an unrestricted free agent by not extending a qualifying offer; and watched Phoenix Copley walk in free agency to the Los Angeles Kings.
Kuemper was at the top of their priority list for free agency. After securing him on a five-year, $26.25 million deal, they swooped in to ink Lindgren.
Lindgren, 29, has played mostly in the minors since entering the NHL in 2015-16. He started a mere 28 games at the NHL level through six seasons. Last season, he played with the St. Louis Blues on a two-way deal.
He played 34 games with the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. He posted a 24-7-1 record with a 2.21 goals against average and .925 save percentage. In five games with the Blues, he stopped shots on goal at a .958 rate while posting a 1.22 GAA.
Prior to the Blues, Lindgren spent five seasons with the Montreal Canadiens.
Considering the Capitals’ salary cap restrictions entering the offseason, General Manager Brian MacLellan had to dig deep to find a suitable option at backup netminder at a reasonable price.
Lindgren’s average annual value is $700,000 less than Samsonov signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Capitals’ projected qualifying offer would have come in at $3 million to $3.5 million.
Washington is allocating a total of $6.35 million at goaltender at the NHL level for the 2022-23 season. The club believes they have upgraded with Kuemper in net. Lindgren flashed enough to be a promising option at the No. 2 spot.
