The Avalanche took Saturday off, but Chris MacFarland kept working.

Colorado’s general manager made his sixth trade of the season, this one targeted at improving his blue line. The big name headed Colorado’s way is 27-year-old defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Colorado acquired Lindgren, depth forward Jimmy Vesey, and the rights to prospect Hank Kempf in exchange for defenseman Calvin de Haan, forward Juuso Parssinen, as well as second and fourth round picks in 2025.

The Avalanche have multiple picks in each of those rounds this season, so one stipulation of the trade is that the Rangers will get the higher draft pick in either round.

Parssinen was acquired by the Avalanche earlier this season for a third-round pick, so the Avalanche have moved out a lot of draft capital in the recent months. de Haan was signed over the summer to provide depth on the blue line but hasn’t really fit in with Colorado’s style of play. He’s been a frequent healthy scratch over the last few months.

Lindgren, who was listed as a target in The Denver Gazette’s trade deadline preview on Friday, has been a minute muncher on New York’s blue line for the past six seasons. Most of that time has been spent on the top pair next to Adam Fox, as Lindgren is averaging close to 20 minutes a night this season. His effectiveness has declined over the past two seasons, as there’s been a large dip in his on-ice play. A big reason for that is his willingness to throw his body around.

Since 2019, he’s been credited with 562 hits and 558 blocked shots. Listed at just 6 feet, the impact of all that on his body seems to have taken effect. It’s highly unlikely that Lindgren will average 20 minutes a night with the Avalanche, so perhaps he’ll be better suited in a lesser role on Colorado’s blue line. He’ll almost certainly play a big role on the penalty kill, as he leads all Rangers players in average time-on-ice per game while shorthanded.

Lindgren is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, so unless the Avalanche have plans to re-sign him, he’s purely a rental.

Vesey is a 31-year-old depth forward who has six points in 33 games this season.

The NHL trade deadline is on March 7, so there is still time for MacFarland to tinker with his roster more if he wants to.