{"id":412245,"date":"2026-01-17T06:57:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T06:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/412245\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T06:57:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T06:57:18","slug":"where-the-rangers-could-start-their-retool-before-nhl-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/412245\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Rangers could start their retool before NHL trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

With team president and general manager Chris Drury waving the white flag on the Rangers season<\/a> with a letter talking of a retooling of the roster, here\u2019s a look at who could be on the move before the Olympic break and March 6 trade deadline:<\/p>\n

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tRY IT NOW <\/a><\/p>\n

1. Artemi Panarin<\/p>\n

In a meeting with Drury on Friday, Panarin was informed that the Rangers would not be extending him<\/a>. As one of the last remaining big names on the impending free agent board, Panarin naturally has been in the middle of trade chatter all season. He is also one of the highest-valued assets the Rangers have in their lineup and should be able to fetch a mini haul. His full no-move clause, however, puts Panarin in the driver\u2019s seat. Drury will have to work closely with Panarin and his camp to arrange a deal that the star Russian wing is on board with.<\/p>\n

2. Brennan Othmann<\/p>\n

Another player who has been in the rumor mill nearly all season, Othmann has been tabbed as needing a fresh start. The No. 16 overall pick in 2021 has struggled to translate his game to the NHL level over 33 career games. It simply has not been a fit in New York.<\/p>\n

\"Rangers<\/p>\n

Rangers Rookie Brennan Othmann (78) when the New York Rangers held their training camp Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n

3. Carson Soucy<\/p>\n

In the final year of his deal, Soucy, and his $3.25 million cap, hit is easily moveable. There are plenty of teams that could use a stay-at-home defenseman who can play on either side.<\/p>\n

Compared to last season, Soucy has been much more effective in his role for the Rangers through his 41 games. The Rangers, who gave up the 2025 third-round pick they received from the Golden Knights for Reilly Smith to acquire Soucy, should be able to find a team in need of defensive depth for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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4. Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re<\/p>\n

If the Rangers wanted to make a splash and partially change up the team\u2019s DNA, dealing Lafreni\u00e8re before his modified no-trade clause \u2014 with an eight-team no-trade list \u2014 kicks in for the 2027-28 season would be a way. Nights like his three-assist effort in the Winter Classic are too few and far between.<\/p>\n

The 2020 first overall pick was the consensus top selection at the time the Rangers won the draft lottery, but he never has been able to produce or lead like one. Lafreniere\u2019s track record in the NHL hasn\u2019t done much for his trade value, which means Drury should want to pounce on the first legitimate offer.<\/p>\n

\"Rangers<\/p>\n

Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re juggles the puck in the first period at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York, Monday, January 5, 2026. JASON SZENES\/ NY POST<\/p>\n

5. Vincent Trocheck<\/p>\n

The market for centers right now is one the Rangers will want to explore. There is a high demand for quality centers, which makes Trocheck another valuable trade chip for the Rangers. Since J.T. Miller was just named captain and Mika Zibanejad has a no-move clause until it becomes modified in 2029-30, Trocheck\u2019s 12-team no-trade list that kicked in this season makes him one of the Rangers\u2019 easiest centers to trade. The Rangers are already thin down the middle, but Trocheck may be the player who could fetch the kind of deal that Drury is looking for.<\/p>\n

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6. Braden Schneider<\/p>\n

Primarily a third-pair defenseman over his five seasons in New York, Schneider hasn\u2019t had the strongest season as he\u2019s taken on a bigger role in the absence of Adam Fox. The Rangers never quite gave him an extended top-four opportunity unless it came on the heels of an injury, but the 24-year-old also hasn\u2019t seized the role either. The Rangers would likely be willing to move on from Schneider as he heads toward restricted free agency \u2014 with arbitration rights \u2014 at the end of this season. Schneider would be a beneficial addition to any contender\u2019s defensive depth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With team president and general manager Chris Drury waving the white flag on the Rangers season with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5111],"tags":[1503,304,3039,5169,6188,5901,337,5,2685,160,3328,35,5190,5193,4,36,1260,3042],"class_list":["post-412245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-rangers","tag-adam-fox","tag-alexis-lafreniere","tag-artemi-panarin","tag-braden-schneider","tag-brennan-othmann","tag-carson-soucy","tag-chris-drury","tag-hockey","tag-j-t-miller","tag-mika-zibanejad","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkrangers","tag-nhl","tag-rangers","tag-reilly-smith","tag-vincent-trocheck"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115909141844142461","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}