New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider is one of the top trade assets the Rangers have at their disposal in advance of the deadline next week. According to The Athletic’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano, “Schneider being traded feels like a 50-50 proposition,” and Rangers GM Chris Drury is reportedly “content” to retain Schneider if no team is willing to meet the high asking price he has set.
According to Mercogliano, the Rangers’ preference in any Schneider deal is a “hockey trade,” meaning they’re looking for younger players who are NHL-ready or at least very close to being NHL-ready. That falls in line with how the Rangers have framed their current team direction, being that of a “re-tool” rather than a full-scale rebuild. Whether the Rangers will be able to receive the kind of offers for Schneider that they’re looking for is still unclear. It would not be a huge surprise to see New York receive considerable interest in Schneider, of course, given his age, positional value and what he has accomplished as an NHL player thus far.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Former New York Islanders goalie Christopher Gibson has signed in the DEL, joining the Schwenninger Wild Wings of Germany’s top pro league. The former Islanders goalie has 16 NHL games on his resume and has played in 244 career AHL games. He was last in North America in 2022-23 when he got into 20 games for the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds, and has bounced between several European teams. So far in 2025-26, he has played in four games for Italian club HC Bolzano of the ICEHL, posting an .879 save percentage and 1-3 record.
- Defenseman Maxime Lajoie, a former member of the Ottawa Senators, signed a one-year contract extension with KHL club Avangard Omsk. The team’s official statement called Lajoie an “indispensable part” of the team’s defense, something that is underscored by his 37 points in 60 games this season. Like Gibson, Lajoie also last played in North America as a member of the AHL Firebirds. In 2024-25, Lajoie scored 38 points in 70 games for Coachella. He has played in the NHL most recently in 2023-24, with the Toronto Maple Leafs.