Braden Schneider Faces Uncertain Future as Rangers Eye Roster Shakeup
As the New York Rangers prepare for what could be a pivotal retooling of their roster, trade chatter is heating up - and for the first time, Braden Schneider’s name is being tossed into the mix.
The 24-year-old defenseman, once seen as a steady piece of the Rangers’ blue line puzzle, is now facing the unfamiliar reality of being part of trade speculation. With his restricted free agency looming after the 2025-26 season, questions about his long-term future in New York are becoming harder to ignore.
Schneider, for his part, is doing what he can to tune out the noise.
“I don't have any social media or anything like that, so it's not like I'm running into it a whole lot,” he said. “Obviously, you hear about the noise and stuff, and it sucks to hear because of the expectation that we had this year.”
Make no mistake - Schneider wants to be a Ranger. He’s made that clear. But he also knows this is the business end of the sport, and with the March 6 trade deadline approaching, the team’s front office is going to do what it believes is necessary to get things back on track.
“I love being a Ranger, it's awesome,” he added. “Just the results this year, it makes it tough.
It's one of those things that you understand. It's stuff that at this point is out of our control, and whatever happens happens, but I keep my focus here in this room with my teammates and still trying to get wins and get better each day.”
That mindset has become more important than ever for Schneider in a season that’s tested him on multiple fronts. Through 56 games, he’s described his play as “up and down” - a fair assessment given both his on-ice impact and the numbers behind it. His physicality remains a staple of his game, and he’s made a conscious effort to improve offensively, but his career-worst -14 plus/minus rating has been a sore spot.
For a defenseman who prides himself on keeping the puck out of his own net, that stat stings.
“I feel like this year, it’s crazy because we’ve been getting scored against a lot,” Schneider said. “I take a lot of pride in obviously not getting scored against and being a mindless player. On a team that’s struggling you always want to do more.”
He’s tried to adapt, especially when it comes to generating offense. Getting pucks through traffic, avoiding shin pads, and hitting the net - those little details have been a focus. But when the wins aren’t coming, it’s hard for any player to feel good about their individual performance.
“My main goal is not to get points or anything like that, it is to get wins,” he said. “When you are not getting wins, you feel like you need to do more.”
Schneider’s journey with the Rangers began during a stretch of success - two trips to the Eastern Conference Final and a team that seemed poised to contend for years. But the NHL doesn’t wait for potential. Over the last year and a half, the core has started to shift, and now the team is at a crossroads.
He’s seen close teammates moved. He’s watched the locker room evolve. And now, he’s bracing for the possibility that he might be next.
“It's probably the hardest thing about being a professional hockey player - building these relationships with these guys over a course of a couple years, and you don't perform as a team, and it's time to make changes,” Schneider said. “That's the way it goes, and it sucks.”
There’s a real human element here. Behind every trade rumor is a player who’s built bonds, made a home, and invested in a team’s vision.
Schneider gets that. But he also understands the stakes.
“You always wish that you could have had the results to keep the team together, because we really do have a great group of guys in here,” he said. “It's sad to see some guys go but at the same time, it's the business of things.
I think everyone understands what the expectation is - when you're not meeting it, you're gonna have to make those decisions. So it's a double-edged sword, where it's sad, but at the same time, you have to understand what's going on.”
With the deadline looming, the Rangers are clearly in evaluation mode - not just of their roster, but of their identity. And for Braden Schneider, that means staying ready, staying focused, and staying grounded, even as the ground beneath him starts to shift.