The Detroit Red Wings tweeted today that they’ve re-signed defenseman Gustav Lindstrom to a two-year extension carrying him through the 2022-23 season. The financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed. CapFriendly reports that it’s a one-way deal with an $850,000 cap hit, paying him $750,000 in 2021-22 and $950,000 in 2022-23.
Lindstrom, who’s yet to turn 23 years old, was a second-round selection of Detroit in 2017. The nephew of former NHL defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson, Lindstrom’s struggled to cement a full-time spot in Detroit’s lineup so far in his young career. He’s played in 29 career games across the past two seasons, tallying four assists and a combined 16:21 per night across both years. He’s been an average third-pairing defender up to this point in his NHL path and could reprise that role again next season with a little bit more lineup consistency. He’s a decent penalty-killer and could see more time on Detroit’s units, who had the 22nd-best penalty kill in the league last season at 78.7 percent.
The player has always been known more for his defensive game, so anything above a second- or third-pairing role long term for Lindstrom is likely wishful thinking. Yet a consistent NHL future isn’t out of the question for Lindstrom, whose defensive ability has steadily improved since entering the league despite a small sample size. And especially now, with Dennis Cholowski selected by Seattle in expansion, the goal for the Ostervala-born defensemen next year is simple: cement himself as one of Detroit’s top six defenders.