(Washington) “I’m a National League goaltender. It’s Charlie Lindgren who utters these words, which one would have hardly believed a few years ago, when this undrafted goaltender was struggling to establish himself even with the Laval Rocket.
But it’s a metamorphosed Lindgren who has been defending the colors of the Capitals since the start of the season. A metamorphosis that would have been impossible without a change of scenery a year and a half ago. In the summer of 2021, the goalkeeper took advantage of his autonomy to leave the Canadian, the only organization he had known until then. And he regrets nothing.
“I wasn’t happy with my last two years with the Canadiens,” he admits on the phone.
Not happy because he spent most of the 2020-2021 season – that of 56 games – in the reserve squad, the famous “taxi squad”, one of these creations due to the pandemic. Basically, he trained with the Habs, but did not play since the players of this squad were considered in the American League, in the eyes of the collective agreement. These players therefore fell into a kind of administrative vacuum, because the coaches had to manage the NHL club as usual. In addition, Cayden Primeau was then seen as the goalkeeper of the future and was prioritized to play games with Laval. And when Carey Price was injured at the end of the season, Primeau was called up.
Lindgren had only played three games that season, all three with the Rocket. The previous season, he had the right to 16 games in Laval and 6 in Montreal before the cessation of activities in March 2020.
In short, 25 games in two seasons, for a goalkeeper in the second half of his twenties.
Ask anyone in the reserve squads, it wasn’t good for anyone, especially the guards. I kept working really hard, but I didn’t really have any coaching anymore, so I was trying to improve on my own.
Charlie Lindgren
Lindgren also suffered from sleep problems, which he described in our pages last March.
Once insomnia settled and the reserve squad abolished, Lindgren therefore relaunched his career last year in the organization of the Blues, then this season with the Capitals. Last summer, he signed a three-year deal with Washington, and after a solid half of the season, he’s established himself as the team’s permanent backup goaltender.
His record since leaving Montreal is impressive. On the season, combining his NHL and AHL games, he is 39-11-3 with a 2.25 GAA and .924 save percentage. He therefore won 74% of his decisions. Three out of four matches.
In Washington this season, he already has 10 triumphs, as many as Darcy Kuemper. “They were amazing. We are the only team with two goaltenders with ten wins, it shows how good they are, ”said Dylan Strome, well aware of the statistics, after the Capitals’ loss to the Senators on Thursday.
At the time of the interview, Lindgren still did not know if he would get the start against the Canadiens on Saturday. “We always find out by text message in the early evening, the day before the game,” he said.
But if Peter Laviolette analyzes Lindgren’s record last year, he will note that the goalkeeper who catches from the right has signed four wins in five games against the Canadian and his school club. The last win was a shutout in Game 7 of the Eastern Calder Cup playoff final. “It was a very tight series and winning Game 7 was special. »
Still bitter against his former club? “I had a while. But there have been many changes. So I don’t feel against the Canadiens per se. »
” I’m not resentful. I rather believe that everything happens for a reason and my two difficult years in Montreal helped me in the end. It helped keep me motivated and I knew I would want to grab my next opportunity. Also, if I go back four years, can I say 100% that I was ready for the National League? I do not know. But now I know I’m 100% ready. »
Lindgren turned 29 two weeks ago. His assistant, Kuemper, became the NHL’s number one goaltender at age 28. This is one more reason for him to believe that he can still climb the ladder, even as he approaches his thirties.
“Scott Murray is a very good goalkeeper coach and Kuemper is a phenomenal partner. He is calm and I can learn from him. I feel that I am progressing and that I am an NHL goaltender. »