To say the least, the 2026 Trade Deadline was disappointing for the New York Rangers, who need as many assets as they can get in their retool plan.
Related: Rangers Should Hold Onto Trocheck if Trade Returns Are Underwhelming
Yes, some of the little trades made were justified. However, it’s more about what the Rangers didn’t or refused to do. President and general manager Chris Drury needed to hit a home run or two to put the organization back on track, and he didn’t even come close.
A Look at the Trades
First, let’s look at the following trades the Rangers made with the returns.
- Traded: Artemi Panarin; Received: a conditional 2026 third-round pick, a conditional 2028 fourth-round pick and Liam Greentree
- Traded: Carson Soucy; Received: 2026 third-round pick
- Traded: Brennan Othmann; Received: Jacob Battaglia
- Traded: Sam Carrick; Received: 2026 third-round pick and 2026 sixth-round pick
Overall, this isn’t a good look. When you make four trades in a seller’s market, including trading a star forward, and can’t even snag a first-round pick in return, that translates to an unmitigated disaster.
Why Holding Onto Trocheck Wasn’t the Biggest Concern
Sure, Panarin had a no-movement clause, and the lack of control over the situation from the organization’s point of view understandably complicated matters. But it seems like there were other opportunities that Drury refused to capitalize on.
No, it wasn’t holding off on trading Vincent Trocheck. The Rangers had every right to command a premium for what was seen by many as the top trade target on the board. Drury couldn’t simply afford to squander it. Had the former Rangers captain caved and accepted a deal that centered around a first-round pick and prospect Charlie Stramel, fans would have been furious with the lackluster return, and rightfully so.
That’s not where Drury is at fault. There were a couple of other players who should have been dealt that probably would have snagged significant futures. That’s Braden Schneider and Taylor Raddysh.
Raddysh, who has nine goals this season, is signed at an attractive $1.5 million average annual value through 2026-27. The 28-year-old isn’t flashy, but playoff teams likely would have valued his big frame combined with his speed coming down the wing. This feels like a missed opportunity for at least another mid-round pick or more.
But by far the most baffling was not trying hard enough to trade Schneider. Overall, it appeared to be a strong market, in particular for defensemen, with the Winnipeg Jets standing out by packaging deep blueliners Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn in exchange for four pieces centered around a second-round pick and top prospect Isak Rosén, who has posted an impressive 43 points in 37 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season as a 22-year-old.
It makes you wonder if the Rangers could have snagged a first-round pick or something of equivalent value by trading 24-year-old Schneider, who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent in July but has multiple years of team control left.
But it appeared that Drury wanted an “impact forward” in return to pull the trigger, as Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reported (from ‘Rangers insider: Schneider faces uncertain future, plus the latest on Trocheck,’ The Athletic – 2/27/26).
Instead of taking draft compensation ahead of the trade deadline, the Rangers now take a calculated risk that the market will have more suitors for Trocheck and Schneider in the summer.
The Rangers Only Have Themselves to Blame
Sure, Drury was met with some unfortunate circumstances with the lack of control over Panarin’s situation and a market that did not want to pay up for Trocheck. That could all be true, yet he has nobody else to blame for being in this position but himself.
The Rangers, who have been plagued by a lack of goal scoring this season, perhaps wouldn’t be in this position if Drury hadn’t decided to trade star winger Pavel Buchnevich a few years ago, which is looking like one of the worst trades in franchise history.
Maybe the Rangers should have used their cap space a little better over the past year or so, with Will Borgen ($4.1 million), J.T. Miller ($8 million) and Vladislav Gavrikov ($7 million) all on the books, according to PuckPedia. That all traces back to Durry.
As a result, the Rangers find themselves in ruins and appear to be on track to endure their worst season this century.
Based on all the trades made since the so-called “Letter 2.0” was sent out, what gives you any confidence that Drury is the right person to lead the Blueshirts out of this mess? Maybe we can give some credit to having an asking price on a player and not being forced into a deal just for the sake of it. That requires discipline.
But the bottom line is this: Drury needed to hit a home run or two, and he didn’t. Now, the Rangers still have unfinished business to take care of with Schneider and Trocheck in the offseason, plus a critical potential top-five pick in the upcoming draft. The Rangers must get these decisions right.
Rangers owner James Dolan needs to seriously consider, between now and the end of the season, if he has the right people in the organization making the executive decisions on personnel, starting with Drury.
