Five Potential Trade Options for Braden Schneider

In 2020, the New York Rangers were such big fans of a particular prospect that they decided to trade up from the 22nd overall pick, packaging it with the 72nd overall pick, to acquire the 19th overall selection from the Calgary Flames. With it, they drafted a 6-3, right-handed defenseman they viewed as a smart, two-way defender who can bring an element of physicality the team was desperate for at the time. Now, going on six years later, Braden Schneider has played parts of five seasons in New York for a total of 337 games, posting 20 goals and 59 assists for 79 points.

Schneider played a key part in the team’s two runs to the Eastern Conference Final. While he has been held in high regard by the franchise and continues to play a significant role on the team—especially now with the injury to Adam Fox—the Rangers have been hesitant to make any long term commitments. They had the chance to sign him to something longer term when he first hit restricted free agency in 2024, but opted instead to sign him to a two-year bridge deal. With little to no conversations seemingly being had about a potential extension, there’s no guarantee that Schneider is going to remain in the organization's long term plans. 

For a team that is emphasizing a "retool" over a rebuild, however, you'd have to think that they would want to have a 24-year-old right-handed defenseman capable of playing on your second pairing for the next five-plus years. Schneider will be an restricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning the Rangers would have significant control over what his next contract looks like. In the event they can't agree to terms, the Rangers could always trade Schneider in a similar type of deal they made with the Carolina Hurricanes for K'Andre Miller last summer.

It's also worth noting that Schneider is not listed on Chris Johnston's most recent trade board for The Athletic. When discussing the Rangers following The Letter 2.0 during a recent episode of The Steve Dangle Podcast, Jesse Blake of SDPN suggested that Schneider is the kind of player a team like the Rangers keeps through a retool.

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic also spoke about Schneider on the latest episode of Blueshirts Breakaway, and was slightly uncertain what the plan with him could be, indicating his value on the trade market, as well as how much of his career generally, may have fallen victim to questionable coaching. Jonny Lazarus of Daily Faceoff suggested this whole retool motive would be pointless if the team doesn't trade him following The Letter 2.0.

As I mentioned in a previous story, Braden Schneider is likely one of the Rangers' best trade chips. It’s a tale as old as time: NHL general managers love nothing more than a right-handed defensemen who plays a physical, two-way game. And that surely makes Schneider a desirable target on the trade market. Not to mention that Rasmus Andersson, who was the top defenseman available, has just been dealt from Calgary to the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning teams who were in on him could be looking for the next best option. Schneider is likely that next best option.

Assessing Schneider's Value

What we know about Braden Schneider is he is a player the Rangers purportedly value highly. He's only 24, a former first-round pick, a right-handed defenseman who can play in a top four role and, in the event he is traded, the team acquiring him will have the opportunity to sign him to whatever type of contract they want, without having to worry about him becoming an unrestricted free agent in the near future. Similarly to Alexis Lafrenière, Schneider is a young, and with plenty of valuable playoff experience. To any team in the league looking to make the playoffs, this season or in the coming future, Schneider holds a ton of value.

Arthur Staple of Daily Faceoff also mentioned that Schneider could bring back the most significant return for the Rangers if they decide to move him.

Schneider Trade Comparables

While it's not a direct comparison, the Rasmus Andersson trade gives us the best idea of what a return could look like in this current market.

The 29-year-old pending unrestricted free agent brought the Calgary Flames an NHL ready defenseman (Zach Whitecloud), a prospect (Abram Wiebe, 209th overall), a first round pick, and a second round pick that turns into a first if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup. This should be the minimum package the Rangers seek out. Given Schneider is younger, was a higher draft pick, and comes with team control, he could very well fetch the Rangers the same type of return, if not possibly higher.

Last season, the Boston Bruins got a first, a fourth, and former first-round draft pick in Fraser Minten in exchange for 28-year-old Brandon Carlo, who had an additional year remaining on his contract. On the other side of that scale, the Minnesota Wild acquired David Jiricek—a similar quality prospect who is a few years younger than Schneider—plus a 2025 fifth-round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets for quite a haul: a (top-five protected) first, a third, a fourth, and defenseman Daemon Hunt. Another interesting trade comparable is Noah Dobson, who also is a RFA, right-shot defenseman traded over the summer in exchange for the 16th and 17th overall picks, as well as Emil Heineman.

Assuming a healthy Adam Fox, with Vladislav Gavrikov, Will Borgen, and younger players like Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow capable of taking on a bottom pair role, trading Schneider to improve the team longer term could be their best option. They can get pieces that help them compete moving forward as well as draft capital that can help them prepare for the future.

What exactly would a trade like that look like? Let’s take a look at five potential trade packages for Braden Schneider.

1) Boston Bruins

Matthew Poitras, Mason Lohrei and a First Round Pick or Dean Letourneau, Matej Blumel, Frederic Brunet and a First Round Pick

Ultimately, Vegas won the Rasmus Andersson sweepstakes, but the Boston Bruins were likely a close second. It was reported that they were given permission to speak to Andersson and his camp about a potential extension and, quite frankly, they seemed like a perfect fit for each other. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub wrote more about this and mentioned that it likely would have cost Boston Matt Poitras, Mason Lohrei, and one of their four first round picks across the next two drafts.

Chip and I are on the same page about Matthew Poitras and Mason Lohrei being desirable trade targets for the Rangers. They're a team that needs young center depth and a left defenseman capable of playing in the top four. If the Bruins are desperate to fill the void they thought Andersson was going to fill, they could be willing to pay a similar price for Braden Schneider. Chip is going to mention them in a coming MTPS story, so I'll leave the deep dive on why the Rangers should entertain that to him. Instead, I'm going to focus on a slightly different package from Boston that could be an option.

The Bruins drafted Dean Letourneau 25th overall in the 2024 draft and he's operating at a point-per-game pace in his second season at Boston College. The 6-7, right-handed center has a great shot and plays a physical game that would translate well into the identity Chris Drury is trying to shape the Rangers into. He was compared to the likes of Tage Thompson and Michael Rasmussen, and could very well develop into a middle-six center in the NHL. He's coming off a brutal freshman year at BC, which could give the Bruins reason to include him in a trade like this. The Rangers should be more than willing to take on that risk as the reward could be much higher seeing as he's racking up points in his sophomore season (13 goals and 10 assists in 23 games).

Frederic Brunet could be a Braden Schneider-lite, so to speak. A physical, two-way defender who's having success in the AHL—seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points isn't anything to scoff at for a 22-year-old drafted in the fifth round. His ceiling is likely on the second pair, and there's a chance he doesn't pan out to be much of an upgrade over Matthew Robertson, but he'd be the young defenseman to target in this trade if Mason Lohrei is not involved.

As for Matej Blumel, he's mainly a throw-in but could be a great fringe depth player to bring on. I'm not as confident he can be that next Kiefer Sherwood-type of player, but there is a chance he could be molded into that role. He's a pending UFA turning 26 this spring who has seven goals and 14 assists in 25 games with the Providence Bruins, and has had cups of coffee in Boston this season. He has a similar frame as Sherwood, shoots left but can play either wing, is hungry on pucks, plays with pace, can kill penalties, and can provide secondary scoring. If not acquired, the Rangers should keep him in mind this summer.

No matter the package of players the Rangers take on from Boston, one of their first rounders should absolutely be in the conversation. They have two in this coming draft as well as two in 2027, and parting with one of them in a deal for Schneider is a worthwhile gamble for them to take.