Colin Stephenson: Rangers' trade deadline clock about to tick again with Olympic break ending
Rangers' Sam Carrick skates against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 7, 2025. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
The Winter Olympics come to an end Sunday, with the much anticipated hockey gold medal game between the USA and Canada. And with that, the Rangers’ break from the grim reality of their lost 2025-26 season is over.
The NHL’s Olympic roster freeze ends at midnight [Sunday, going into Monday morning], meaning the clock begins ticking again Monday for those players worrying about potentially being traded. And it will continue to tick all the way up until the March 6 trade deadline.
“Obviously, with the deadline coming up, we'll see what happens there, but whatever happens, happens,’’ fourth-line center Sam Carrick told Newsday. “I mean, I know the guys in this room are – we're proud to be Rangers, and we're going to give it everything we’ve got, and put a product on the ice that we're proud of and that the fans can be proud of as well.’’
Carrick is one of the players whose name has been floated about as possibly being traded by general manager Chris Drury, who has announced he plans to “retool’’ the team. Leading scorer Artemi Panarin and defenseman Carson Soucy were shipped out before the roster freeze went into effect Feb. 5, and the hot speculation is that the next to go may be center Vincent Trocheck, who’ll be playing in the gold medal game Sunday for the USA.
But Trocheck wouldn’t necessarily be the only one leaving. Braden Schneider, 24, is in the final year of his contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer. He might be an attractive commodity around the league as a young-but-experienced righthanded-shooting defenseman. And depth forward Jonny Brodzinski and backup goaltender Jonathan Quick are also in the last year of their contracts, and will be unrestricted free agents this summer. All could have some value to other teams, who might give the Rangers a draft pick or some other asset for them.
“Obviously you see the letter (Drury’s Jan. 16 message to the fans announcing the retool), and I think everyone probably feels some like some type of way,’’ said Schneider, a 2020 first round draft pick who’s been a third-pair defenseman for most of his four seasons with the team, but has struggled somewhat this season when injuries to Adam Fox forced him to play on the top pair.
“I think my mindset toward it is, keep trying to get better, keep trying to put my best foot forward for my teammates, and whatever happens, happens,’’ Schneider said. “At this point, it's out of my control, and the only thing that I know I can do is (control) how hard I work, bring a positive attitude around the team, and keep trying to win games.’’
Carrick, who’s been traded twice before (he went to the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals with Edmonton after being traded there from Anaheim at the deadline), said the risk of being traded comes with the job, especially for him, since he’s never had a no-movement clause in any of his contracts.
“I've kind of been through it enough now that a lot of it's just noise,’’ said Carrick, who’s in the middle of a three-year, $3 million contract he signed with the Rangers as a free agent in 2024. “All I can worry about is playing for the Rangers and doing everything I can to help the team win.’’
Quick, who grew up a Ranger fan in Connecticut, has more wins (408) than any other American-born goalie, and has backed up Igor Shesterkin for the past three seasons. He was asked if he would waive the 20-team no-trade clause in his contract should an opportunity arise for him to go to team heading for the playoffs.
“When I signed the contract, I planned on honoring that contract,’’ he told Newsday.
Vaakanainen cheers on Finland
When the NHL season started, defenseman Urho Vaakanainen had a reasonable chance to make the Finnish Olympic team, which won the bronze medal Saturday. But after he lost his spot in the Rangers’ top six defensemen and stopped playing regularly, he was left off the roster.
However, he said, he still cheered for Finland in the tournament.
“Yeah, it's a little weird to watch those games, because you can (imagine) yourself in there,’’ Vaakanainen said. “But no, I've been a fan, just watching, enjoying the game. They've been good. It's been good hockey.’’
Since Jan. 26, when Soucy was traded to the Islanders, Vaakanainen has been back in the lineup every game, and he’s had an assist, two penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in the five games before the Olympic break. On the season, he’s got four assists and 14 penalty minutes in 27 games, and is minus-4.
“It's obviously a little weird situation,’’ Vaakanainen said. “But I just go game-by-game. Obviously, you want to play well, and end the season on a high note.’’
Blue notes
Mika Zibanejad, whose Sweden team was eliminated by the USA in the quarterfinals, was not at practice Saturday. Players returning from the Olympics are entitled to at least one day off upon returning… With a snowstorm expected to hit the area Sunday night into Monday, the Rangers changed their practice schedule to take their scheduled day off on Monday instead of Tuesday… Quick left practice early for what the Rangers called precautionary reasons, after apparently suffering a lower-body issue.
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.
