{"id":427508,"date":"2026-01-25T15:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/427508\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T15:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T15:30:14","slug":"rangers-must-trade-braden-schneider-the-hockey-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/427508\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers Must Trade Braden Schneider – The Hockey Writers –"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the trade deadline approaches, it\u2019s almost a certainty that the New York Rangers will act as sellers, with Artemi Panarin leading the charge on the most obvious players who will be dealt. While there are question marks around others like Vincent Trocheck<\/a> and Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re, the front office really needs to move on from Braden Schneider above all else.<\/p>\n

Related: Rangers\u2019 Direction Is Correct But Management May Not Be up to the Task<\/a><\/p>\n

While Schneider has been a solid hockey player for the Rangers during his tenure, there are multiple reasons to trade him.<\/p>\n

Limited Improvement and Lack of Upside<\/p>\n

Ever since Schneider first made his debut in 2022, he\u2019s been pretty much the same player. That\u2019s a shutdown third-pairing defenseman.<\/p>\n

But in 2025-26, due to injuries, Schneider has gotten the chance to play first-pairing minutes. Safe to say that hasn\u2019t really worked out. When paired with Vladislav Gavrikov<\/a>, the two have posted an expected goals for (xGF) rate of 43.77 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick<\/a>. The difference is night and day when Fox plays with Gavrikov, with the duo commanding an xGF rate of 59.13 percent.<\/p>\n

\"BradenBraden Schneider, New York Rangers (Amy Irvin<\/a> \/ The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

This tells you Schneider has hit his peak in New York and is better suited to help out a playoff contender at this stage of his career. There\u2019s enough upside to become a top four defenseman, but it\u2019s hard to imagine that happening with the Blueshirts.<\/p>\n

Big Return<\/p>\n

Speaking of playoff contenders, Schneider would likely command a premium. We have already seen Kiefer Sherwood<\/a>, a role player who plays a less premium position on the wing, bring back two second-round picks<\/a> and an American Hockey League (AHL) player for the Vancouver Canucks.<\/p>\n

So, what would Schneider command, who plays on the blue line and has another two seasons after this one of restricted free agent control? If the Rangers can get back a first-round pick and a top prospect, making a deal happen would be a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

Avoiding a Raise<\/p>\n

That leads to the next point \u2013 Schneider needs a new contract after this season ends. Whoever controls his rights will need to give him a raise from his current $2.2 million average annual value (AAV).<\/p>\n

As the salary cap increases<\/a>, does that AAV become $3.5 million or closer to $4.5 million? And you have to ask yourself: if you\u2019re the Rangers, why would you be the team to meet that price, given the organization\u2019s need to find scoring?<\/p>\n

As of now, the Rangers are scheduled to have more than $28 million in salary cap space for 2026-27. They need to use as much as possible on finding players who can move the puck seamlessly up the ice and find the back of the net. Schneider fits neither of the needs, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

Schneider isn\u2019t a bad hockey player, but given the Rangers\u2019 position in the standings<\/a>, it\u2019s no longer a question of if they should trade him \u2013 it\u2019s now a must. For both sides, it feels like the time has come for a change in scenery. He is no longer a valuable piece for the organization, and it\u2019s an opportunity to turn the 24-year-old into assets.<\/p>\n

It would be a mistake for the Rangers to commit long-term money to Schneider in the offseason, and they are best suited to move on. The right shot defenseman will likely make another playoff or Stanley Cup contender happy. The Blueshirts should take what they can get for Schneider, whether that\u2019s a first-round or second-round pick package.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the trade deadline approaches, it\u2019s almost a certainty that the New York Rangers will act as sellers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5111],"tags":[23057,5169,5,3328,35,5190,5193,4,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-427508","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-rangers","8":"tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","9":"tag-braden-schneider","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-rangers","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkrangers","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-rangers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115956457495796091","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427508","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=427508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}