Danny Wild-Imagn ImagesThe future for Braden Schneider and Jonny Brodzinski with the New York Rangers appears to be in murky waters.
Schneider, who is set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, has reportedly not engaged in contract negotiations with the Rangers as of right now, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.
“It's something that is out of my control,” Schneider said of his future with the Rangers. “I love being a Ranger. I'm very proud to be a Ranger, and it feels like home here. I'll be doing whatever I can to be the best player I could be, and I hope it's here, and whatever happens is going to happen. I’m proud to be a Ranger, and I’ll leave it at that.”
With his two-year, $4.4 million contract expiring this summer, Schneider is in need of a new contract extension.
“Again on Schneids, we think he's a terrific young right-shot defenseman with size, physicality and extremely high character,” Drury said. “We're excited he's a part of our group. We think he's scratching the surface of what he can be in the league. We hope he's a Ranger for a long time.”
Despite Drury’s positive words about Schneider during his exit interview, all signs are pointing toward the Rangers’ reluctance to give the 24-year-old defenseman a long-term contract extension, given the lack of progress in negotiations as well as the speculation leading up to this point.
The 2020 first-round pick has shown flashes of promise over the years, playing a physical brand of hockey, and the organization had hoped he could blossom into a reliable top-four defenseman.
However, Schneider’s inconsistent play and concerns regarding his development have created a difficult decision for Drury and company about whether to give Schneider a long-term contract extension or trade him, similar to K’Andre Miller just one year ago.
Baugh also reports that the expectation is that Brodzinski, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, will sign elsewhere.
“Yeah,” Brodzinski said about if he would like to be back with the Rangers. “I love this organization, I love my teammates here. The coaches have been great. It’s obviously somewhere that I would love to play. As far as my time here, I’ve really, really enjoyed it, loved playing at MSG. It’s one of the best rinks in the entire world. The fans have been great, so nothing but good things.”
Since signing with the Rangers in 2020, Brodzinski has made a tremendous impact on the organization at both the American Hockey League and NHL levels.
Brodinski has played in 114 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack over four seasons, while serving as captain of the team for a small period of time.
The 32-year-old forward spent much of the past three seasons filling in a valuable bottom-six role for the Rangers, but the rise of some of the Blueshirts’ prospects leaves little room for Brodzinski going into the 2026-27 campaign.