It's clear that this is going to be a summer of major changes for the New York Rangers. Ever since Chris Drury released the "Letter 2.0," the organization has shifted its focus to reworking this roster. Moving on from some of the core pieces and bringing in young talent to help the team be competitive again in the near future. Players like Artemi Panarin and Sam Carrick have already been shipped off, and guys like Vincent Trocheck are expected to be traded during the summer.
But one of the players whose future is up in the air is Braden Schneider. The 24-year-old defenseman has never quite developed the way the Rangers had hoped. Over these five years in the NHL, he has recorded 20 goals and 64 assists for 84 points. He has also not been great on defense or as physical as scouting reports suggested. Despite this, the Rangers continue to shoehorn Schneider into situations he's not suited for, all in the name of having the team's perceived top four in the top four spots.
Vincent Iorio appears to be coming back in on the third pair with Robertson. Sullivan had previously said he didn’t want Schneider or Borgen playing the left side but indicated he’s going back to it. Why? “Necessity.”
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) March 25, 2026
Said it gets the top four D in the top four.
While there is still hope that Schneider can be a late bloomer, the best move for the Rangers would be for them to trade him this offseason.
Braden Schneider time in New York has run it's course
This season has been more of the same for Schneider. In 71 games this season, he has tallied two goals and 13 assists for 15 points. He also blocked 118 shots, delivered 150 hits, and forced 18 turnovers to 88 giveaways. All of which fall in line with his career averages. His metrics are not much better, as according to Natural Stat Trick, he has a 45.89 CF%, a 46.28 SCF%, and a 43.18 xG%. He has also allowed 228 High Danger Scoring Chances.
Schneider has also had plenty of opportunity to improve his game this season. He is averaging 20:31 minutes of ice time per game. This ranks seventh on the Rangers and third among Blueshirts defensemen. This indicates that Schneider has been on the team's second pairing for the majority of the season. He even got some cracks on the first pairing when Adam Fox missed time due to injury. This is more than enough ice time for Schneider to show some sort of imporvement.
It's clear that Schneider will be the player the Rangers expected him to be. He has been given plenty of opportunities and ice time to show something, but just has not. He has never taken the next step in his development, and it looks like this is the peak of Schneider's ability as a Ranger. This is not a player you can build a roster around. There are plenty of cheaper options that can give you the same result. It's best for both sides to just move on.
Although Schneider has not become the player everyone was expecting him to be, he still should garner some trade interest. He is still only 24 years old, meaning that he still has time to grow and become a solid NHL defenseman. He could just need a change of scenery to unlock that potential. If the Rangers hold onto him and he continues to struggle, his trade value will only continue to plummet. If they trade him now, they will at least get something that can help them in the long term. Sure, it won’t be a franchise-altering return, but it’ll at least be a mid-round pick and a decent prospect.
While it's seems hard to give up on a young defenseman, Schneider will never reach his potential in New York. It's best to move him while he still has some value.