As the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina continue to head towards the closing ceremony, the NHL will return to finish the remainder of the regular season in late February. The next big thing for the NHL will be the spring trade deadline on March 6, where all 32 teams look to swap players. For the New York Rangers, as they continue their retool, that involves them potentially dealing away a small number of players. Here are three likely trade candidates the Rangers can afford to lose as they continue trying to hold down their place in the Metro Division basement.
Vincent Trocheck
This one might hurt the most for Rangers fans, but it might also make the most sense. Letting Trocheck go will create a ton of extra money for the Rangers to use if Chris Drury plays his cards right. Sure, he's currently third on the team in total points with 36, but then you look at the real star in Mika Zibanejad, who has 52 points. That's quite a difference between Vinny and Mika, and it might be the best scenario for Trocheck, as he looks to potentially miss the 20 plus goals in a season mark for the first time since the 2020-21 season, when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes. The best projections for the 32-year-old center will settle him at 19 goals and 38 assists for 57 points, and by that time, both Panarin and Zibanejad will have well surpassed that. Of course, Panarin is a Los Angeles King now, but he's yet to even suit up in silver and black since he was sat out well before the Olympic break.
Sam Carrick
Carrick is a 10 year veteran whose first season with the Rangers was decent enough for him to play in all but two regular season games, notching six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. The similarly aged center has never been much of a noted goal scorer, and if the Rangers could shed him for some extra cash or a potential pick in this year's draft, not many fans would bat an eye. Carrick essentially replaced former Rangers right wing Barclay Goodrow in a move that drew ire from plenty of Blueshirts fans, and the reason was because he was on the Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup finals team after the 2023-24 season. Carrick's main appeal is his physicality, much like Matt Rempe, where he's not afraid to put his body on the line to go after the puck. Shipping him off to a playoff team might sting, but then again, even if you're a team that does or doesn't make the playoffs, you have to pursue centers whenever you can. The market just isn't as big league wide.
Braden Schneider
Schneider, alongside the likes of Adam Fox, is a name that's been on several trade boards for most of this season, and since Fox and Will Borgen already cover most of the Rangers' holes at right defense, it's not really necessary to keep retaining the youngster. In four professional seasons with New York, the 24 year old Prince Albert Saskatchewan native has just not been able to produce like he was expected to, having consistent single digit goal seasons. He is a defenseman, and yes, they don't score as much, but even some defensemen nowadays have maybe 10 plus goals for what can be considered a good year. That simply isn't the case with Schneider, and what he probably needs is a change of scenery, possibly like Carrick. Schneider is another player the Rangers could potentially get a good return for, and they need as many of those as possible given the last return deal involving Artemi Panarin being dealt to the Kings resulted in a notable prospect wasn't as well received by some Blueshirts fans.
Other names on the Rangers' personal trade chopping block could include goaltender Jonathan Quick, who hasn't been as successful as in seasons past, even though he's only really been a fill-in for the still-injured Igor Shesterkin. The 40-year-old netminder has a .883 save percentage in 19 games this season and a 19-14-4 record for a team that's basically been a train wreck all year. It's a sharp drop-off from Quick's first season in Manhattan, where he had a .911 save percentage and boasted a 26-18-6 record in 27 games backing up Shesterkin, who posted a .912 save percentage in 55 games, including that postseason.