MTPS: Rangers' Busy Week Leaves Us Asking, What's Next?
Between the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency, Chris Drury did a lot to reshape this roster. But there is still work to be done.
Indeed it has been an eventful week for the New York Rangers.
Let's recap:
Players Subtracted
- Vincent Trocheck
- Will Borgen
- Conor Sheary
- Adam Edstrom
- Brett Berard
- Connor Mackey
- Casey Fitzgerald
- Johnny Brodzinski
- Jonathan Quick
- Brendan Brisson
- Trey Fix-Wolansky
- Brandon Scanlin
Players Added
- Pavel Dorofeyev
- Sean Durzi
- Marcus Pettersson
- Joe Veleno
- Oliver Bjorkstrand
- Joonis Korpisolo
- Cole Beaudoin
- William Trudeau
- Marc Del Gaizo
- Glenn Gawdin
That's a lot of change in a short period of time, and it does not include the players like Alberts Smits who were selected during the draft. Still though, there's one unavoidable question:
What's Next, Indeed
It is wholly inarguable that the New York Rangers are a better team today than the one that finished out the season last year. I suppose I shouldn't say inarguable, because I'm sure there are some who will try to argue, but they're just wrong. This is a better team. It doesn't mean it's a finished product, as even Chris Drury knows there are still a bunch of questions that need answering:
#NYR president and GM Chris Drury: "Certainly not going to sit here and say the job's done and complete and move on. We're still tinkering, still looking, and any which way we can help the team between now and Opening Night, we're going to keep trying."
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) July 2, 2026
Sorting Out the Defense
The Rangers have added three really interesting pieces to their defensive group in Marcus Pettersson, Sean Durzi, and Alberts Smits.
Pettersson and Durzi are locks for the lineup, while the Rangers will have to decide if Smits is ready for New York or if he could benefit from some seasoning in Hartford. My guess is that the former Olympian, drafted in part because he is viewed as being the most NHL-ready among the top-tier of that defensive draft class, will be the on the left side of the third pair to open the season.
That leaves several players' futures up in the air.
Braden Schneider and Scott Morrow
With Adam Fox and Sean Durzi on the right side, that leaves one spot for these two players. Both Schneider and Morrow (as of now) are unsigned restricted free agents.
Morrow, one of the key returns for K'Andre Miller a year ago, did not have a great first year in the organization. His offensive instincts did not provide enough to overcome his inability to be reliable in his own end. The result is that Mike Sullivan and David Quinn did not feel comfortable using him in anything other than sheltered situations, even when Adam Fox was out. Morrow will lose waiver exempt status next season, meaning the options for him are that the Rangers trade him, play him, sit him in the press box, or try to pass him through waivers. I do not see him passing through waivers, nor do I see him earning an everyday role over Schneider.
So that leaves two options:
- Trade Braden Schneider
- Trade Scott Morrow
The Rangers continue to talk up Braden Schneider in ways that don't always correspond to how they use Braden Schneider.
#NYR president and GM Chris Drury on Braden Schneider's status: "We think Braden is a really good young talented defenseman. We drafted him, developed him, we like the skill set and what he does for us. I know he, along with us, are just trying to do everything we can to be…
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) July 2, 2026
That does not sound like a player the Rangers are still thinking of dealing. It sounds like a player who they're trying to come to an agreement with on a bridge deal, right?
So, if Schneider stays, that means Morrow has to go. He won't have much value—probably not more in terms of value than Brennan Othmann did when he was traded. But it would still be better than losing him on waivers or having him spend the season in the press box.
