Five Potential Trade Options for Carson Soucy

It was just ahead of last year's trade deadline that the New York Rangers sent the Vancouver Canucks a 2025 third round draft pick in exchange for big-bodied, left-handed defenseman Carson Soucy. At the time, the Rangers really didn’t need to be buying in a trade like this. However, this was pre-Vladislav Gavrikov and the Rangers were desperately trying to find someone to play next to Adam Fox since Ryan Lindgren had been shipped out to the Colorado Avalanche. Soucy was also under contract for another season at a reasonable cap hit, which also made him an option for the Rangers’ defense corps heading into the 2025-26 season. 

One year later, the team is more or less in the same boat. As recently as a week ago, a playoff position was still within the realm of possibility on account of how bad the East is. The problem with that was the fact that the Rangers were a huge part of why the Eastern Conference is as bad as it is to begin with. One week and four losses later, the Rangers continue to fall in the standings, and with teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs going on significant win streaks, the postseason is becoming quite the pipe dream for the Rangers.

While I made the case earlier in the season for extending this player, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the Rangers don’t need to hold onto him and should sell as high as they can heading into the 2026 trade deadline. In 41 games played this season, Soucy has collected a total of six points split evenly across three goals and three assists. At times, he has really stepped up his game from both an offensive and defensive perspective and has provided a much needed level of physicality. He has 61 hits on the season and eats up key minutes for the Rangers, averaging about 18 minutes of ice time per game. 

I pointed out in our New Year's Roundtable that Soucy should be the easy first shoe to drop in terms of the Rangers becoming conservative sellers. As Joe pointed out in a recent Game Notes story, Soucy’s ice time is already decreasing, which could be a sign that the team is beginning to envision a future without him in the picture. It feels inevitable that he will once again be on the move come trade deadline time and given the current state of the Rangers, he really ought to be.

The Rangers may have paid a third round pick for him this time last year, but with how limited this current trade market is teams could be willing to spend even higher at this year's deadline. With that in mind, the goal should be for the Rangers to try to get a second round pick back for him—and if it has to be a conditional second, that is totally fine. If a second isn't an option, a third rounder or some combination of a pick and a prospect should be the target in a Carson Soucy return. 

Now, let's explore five potential trade destinations for Carson Soucy and what the Rangers could look to get in return. Before we do, however, it’s important to note that Soucy has a 12-team no trade clause. Typically in these situations, it’s fair to assume the eight Canadian teams are included in that. That doesn't mean the player couldn't approve a trade there, or anywhere, as long as he’s willing to go given a situation like this where there’s only a month or two left of the season plus a playoff run. There's a more likely chance they’d be willing to waive, if it means going to a team with a good chance of winning.

1. Minnesota Wild

Why not go back to the place where started it all for you? Originally a fifth round draft pick (137th overall) by them in 2013, the Minnesota Wild could be looking to go all in ahead of this year's postseason, especially now that they have Quinn Hughes in the mix. The Alberta-native played his college hockey at University of Minnesota-Duluth, came up through the Iowa Wild in the AHL, and spent two seasons in Minnesota between 2019-2021. While his best hockey came during his time in Seattle, his numbers in Minnesota weren’t that far off from his career highs. 

At full health, the Wild are already pretty well stacked on the blue line:

Quinn Hughes - Brock Faber
Jonas Brodin - Jared Spurgeon
Jacob Middleton - Zach Bogosian 
Daemon Hunt - David Jiriceck/Matt Kierstad

Full health being the key words there. Beyond their top pair, it’s not a young defense group by any means, save for Jirieck. Spurgeon and Bogosian have been injury prone throughout their careers, and adding a bottom six defenseman who could help in a playoff run wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially in a competitive Western Conference. 

Potential Trade Concept: Jimmy Clark and a Third Round Pick 

A linemate of Rangers’ prospect Brody Lamb, Jimmy Clark was a seventh round pick (213th overall) in 2023 and is in the midst of his junior year at the University of Minnesota. Clark has been a regular in the Golden Gophers lineup since he was a freshman and had a career high of 22 points in his sophomore year. He is currently on pace to top that this year with 12 points in 19 games thus far. A speedy two-way forward with good hands and a goal scoring touch, The Hockey News compared him to a Connor Dewar type of player which would be a valuable option for the Rangers down the road. 

We often talk about how the Rangers should focus on finding the next version of these veteran depth players instead of overpaying for the current version of them in free agency and trades. A trade like this would be a good way of putting that strategy into effect. Chances are Clark’s ceiling is that of a Connor Dewar or a Jonny Brodzinski, but he has a strong skill set and, with the right development, could amount to more. He'd be a great throw-in for this type of trade.