When the NHL resumes play after the Olympic break, the New York Rangers only have four games before the 2026 Trade Deadline. While teams are not allowed to make trades during the Olympic break, they can still talk about making deals. Rangers general manager Chris Drury has already traded Artemi Panarin, and if he wants to make this retool as quick as possible, he needs to trade some players now in order to get the most value back. Here, we’ll look at three players Drury must trade by the deadline.
Vincent Trocheck
The most logical and obvious player Drury needs to trade next is Vincent Trocheck. He is the top center on the trade market, and any team looking to make the playoffs should want to add a player of his caliber. A big reason this trade needs to happen before the deadline is that Trocheck wouldn’t be a rental for any team he goes to. He still has three years left on his deal after this season at a reasonable $5.625 million cap hit. This means that any team bringing him in will have Trocheck for a possible four playoff runs.
This means that Drury could get a haul for him, and since Trocheck doesn’t have the same trade protection Panarin did, there will likely be a bidding war to acquire his services. This trade alone could impact how long this retool could last. If Drury is able to get back other players and assets that could make an impact next season, this retool might be over sooner than many expected. If he fails to get a good return, a retool could turn into a rebuild very quickly.
Sam Carrick
Sam Carrick was of the only players the Rangers signed as a free agent during the 2024 offseason. Carrick, brought in to replace Barclay Goodrow at a much lower cap hit, was coming off a season in which he was part of the Edmonton Oilers squad that made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Coming to New York, he was expected to be a fourth-line center who also got some penalty killing time, but has quickly turned himself into a fan favorite by simply playing his game.
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While he doesn’t provide much offense, Carrick is a player who isn’t afraid to hit or get into a fight with some of the toughest players in the league. He has proven it time and again over his first season and a half in New York, and with the way he plays, now would be the perfect time to trade him. Playoff-bound teams are always looking for depth at center, and Carrick is also under contract next season so would not be a rental. He might not bring back a great return, but it could end up being more than fans expect, given the weak trade market for centers.
Braden Schneider
Braden Schneider is another player who has been heavily rumored to be on the trade block. He has not developed into the player that many hoped he would be, and with Adam Fox and Will Borgen already on the right side of the defense, Schneider does not have a clear role with the Rangers moving forward. He is also a restricted free agent this summer — the Rangers might not want to give him the money and term he is looking for and instead could look to move him as they did with K’Andre Miller last offseason. With his age and the position he plays, Drury could get a great return if he trades Schneider before the deadline.
He is a 24-year-old right-handed defenseman, and teams are always looking to add those to their lineup. If the Rangers were able to get first- and second-round picks plus Scott Morrow in exchange for Miller last offseason, they should be able to get a similar return, if not more, for Schneider simply due to his being right-handed. While he might not bring back any players who could step into an NHL role now or next season, trading him now would give the best chance at a good return that could help set up the Rangers’ future nicely.
The success of this retool is going to hinge on the returns Drury gets for these players. He does’t have to trade any of them before the deadline, as none of them are pending unrestricted free agents, but if Drury wants to get the most back for players he doesn’t see as part of the future, trading them now gives him that chance. Fans are already upset about the return he got for Panarin, and if he messes these trades up, it could spell disaster for this franchise moving forward.
