Rangers sign Braden Schneider to one-year contract extension
Braden Schneider of the Rangers skates during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on April 8. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Rangers announced on Monday that they signed defenseman Braden Schneider to a one-year contract extension.
Schneider, a 6-3, 206-pound right shot who had been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, agreed to a deal worth $5.5 million, a league source said.
General manager Chris Drury announced to fans in January that the Rangers would enter a “retool." Schneider's name was floated out as one of the players who was available via trade.
But after moving veterans Artemi Panarin, Carson Soucy and Sam Carrick before the trade deadline in March, and then trading Vincent Trocheck to Utah on July 1, Drury has apparently decided to hold on to Schneider, a 2020 first-round draft pick.
“We think Braden is a really good, young talented defenseman,’’ Drury said in his July 1 Zoom call with reporters. “Obviously, we drafted him, developed him, we like the skill set and what he does for us. I know he, along with me and us, are just trying to do everything we can to be better and help him be better. But he's an exciting player and a terrific, all-around high character person in our organization.”
Signing Schneider, 24, to a one-year deal means he will be a restricted free agent again next summer, which gives the Rangers flexibility if they don't return to the playoffs next spring. It’s unknown at the moment whether there is any kind of no-trade protection in the deal, but assuming there isn’t, the Rangers could move Schneider at the trade deadline as a rental player.
The signing leaves the Rangers with roughly $2.4 million in space under the NHL’s $104 million salary cap, for a full roster that has 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.
Schneider, who has played five seasons with the Rangers and has 20 goals, 67 assists, for 87 points in 368 games, will reprise his role as the third pair right defenseman, lining up behind Adam Fox and newcomer Sean Durzi, who was acquired from Utah as part of the return for Trocheck.
“He's a mobile guy,’’ Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said in early December of Schneider. “He has a physical presence to his game. He has a good stick. He's very good at closing and taking time and space away. He defends rushes aggressively because of his mobility. I think that's the player that he is when he's at his best.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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