Rangers have big decisions to make on defensemen before, after NHL trade deadline
It may seem an odd time to question what the New York Rangers plans are for their defense corps in the immediate aftermath of its collective breakout offensively and during the Blueshirts recent renaissance.
All six defensemen recorded at least one point Thursday, when the Rangers extended their season-long point streak to 10 games (7-0-3) with a 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time Rangers defensemen achieved this feat since Dec. 8, 2019.
At the other end of the ice, the D corps has done its part tightening things up and playing a more committed game in its own end, better structured and far less chaotic than during that atrocious 4-15-0 Rangers slide in November and December.
“Good defense always leads to good offense,” defenseman Braden Schneider said after the win Thursday. “We’re playing good defense, and it’s creating for us on the other end too.”
Though things finally look good with the unit and coach Peter Laviolette settled on a consistent three pairings, it’s time to examine what the immediate and bigger-picture future of the Rangers defense corps is ahead of — and after — the March 7 trade deadline.
Related: Filip Chytil explains Rangers resurgence: ‘We didn’t lose our minds’
Breaking down plans for Rangers defensemen before, after NHL trade deadline
Let’s look at how each individual defenseman fits moving forward with the Rangers.
Adam Fox
OK, this is easy. The Rangers top defenseman is signed through the 2027-28 season at $9.5 million per season. Quietly, he has 40 points in 48 games and is tied for fourth among all NHL defensemen with 37 assists. Not going anywhere. He is a major part of the Rangers core now and moving forward.
Ryan Lindgren
Fox’s long-time partner is another story. Ryan Lindgren is in the final season of his $4.5 million contract and can be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. His all-out physical style likely means he’s not going to age well, and he’s already had his fair share of injuries in six NHL seasons. You love him because he’s a warrior. It’s also a reason not to re-sign him long term.
Top-four defenseman, like Lindgren, fetch a nice return if traded around the deadline. When the Rangers were stumbling along before the New Year, it appeared Lindgren was a prime candidate to be moved before March 7. But now his game has steadied and the Rangers are surging. So, the Rangers likely prefer to hang on to him and try to make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That means losing him for nothing next summer, assuming they can’t get Lindgren to agree on a short-term contract to return.
Trading Lindgren in-season also means the Rangers would need to replace him. K’Andre Miller could move up to to pair with Fox, but there’s no natural second-pair left-hand shot defenseman on the roster or in the system to take Miller’s spot. That’s not a role you want Urho Vaakanainen nor Zac Jones to play when in playoff contention. So, it says here Lindgren finishes out the season with the Rangers, and then they try to see if he’ll come back on a short-term deal — or he’ll get more term and bigger bucks elsewhere.
K’Andre Miller
Speaking of Miller, the 25-year-old also was a trade candidate when his game mirrored the team’s ugly play for a two-month stretch earlier this season. But now, it’s hard to see the Rangers moving on from Miller, who’s game has solidified paired with Will Borgen. He’s got a three-game point streak and he’s making far fewer egregious mistakes with the puck in his own end.
“I thought it was good that (Miller) generated some offense,” Laviolette explained after the defenseman had a goal and an assist Thursday. “But I thought he was good in the defensive zone tonight. I thought he was a horse out there. He was heavy and he used his skating. He broke pucks out with speed and added to the rush in the neutral zone. I thought he played a real strong game for us.”
It’s those combined attributes, along with his age, that make him exceptionally appealing on the trade market. But it’s also why the Rangers want to hold on to him. The only reason why any of this is in debate is that Miller is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after this season. In other words, he’s due big bucks, and it’s been long believed that the Rangers would lock him down with a long-term deal next summer. That is until his dreadful start and two-year crater in offensive production from the 43-point total he put up in 2022-23.
Expect him to finish the season with the Rangers and then Chris Drury and Co. evaluate their options with Miller, largely depending on how this season plays out for him and the team.
Will Borgen
UPDATE: Rangers sign Will Borgen to 5-year, $20.5 million contract Saturday
Now, here’s an interesting case. Will Borgen arrived from the Seattle Kraken in the Kaapo Kakko trade in December and has been a revelation of sorts. He’s not a star; but Borgen is a solid defensive defensemen, who plays with a non-stop motor and compete level and provides a physical edge to the defense corps. Simply, he’s taken Jacob Trouba’s role and been a better version of the former Rangers captain.
Borgen has helped Miller settle his game down on the second pair, which is no small thing. So, the Rangers have three options with the 28-year-old. Trade him as a rental ahead of the deadline and get a decent return. Keep him and let him walk as a free agent at season’s end. Or perhaps the least likely scenario when he was acquired, but more of an option now, keep him and re-sign him after the season.
He’s not going to be a big-ticket guy on the open market in the summer and to date has been an excellent fit on the right side. You could do worse than Fox, Borgen and Schneider down the right side, letting Victor Mancini continue to grow his game in the minors. With the Rangers in contention, it feels like Borgen is a keeper, at least for now.
Braden Schneider
Like Fox, there’s no debate with Schneider. The 23-year-old is a keeper. Steady, durable, smart, tough and ready to compete game-in and game-out. His average TOI sits at 17:27 per game, up significantly from last season and he’s thrived in multiple roles — second pair, third pair, penalty kill, right side, off (left) side. Signed through next season at $2.2 million annually, the Rangers should be planning to extend him long term before the 2026-27 season.
Urho Vaakanainen
Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the Trouba trade, Urho Vaakanainen has done a good job settling things down on the left side of the third pair. Many Rangers fans believe Jones was jobbed, not given a fair shake in the role. But it’s hard to argue that Vaakanainen hasn’t been a more consistent performer in that role, albeit not the offensive threat Jones is.
The Rangers could be fine with a Vaakanainen-Schneider third pairing the rest of this season. But it could make more sense to explore what it’d take to land, say, Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then have Vaakanainen as New York’s seventh d-man. That’d be some nice depth on the blue line. An affordable restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season, the 26-year-old most definitely could be on the roster next season.
Zac Jones
The most likely outcome with Jones, who’s never held down a regular spot in the lineup, is that he’ll be dealt ahead of the deadline — only in conjunction with or after the Rangers add another defenseman to the mix. The Rangers can’t afford to just dump Jones and then be caught without enough quality depth at the position — and, no, Chad Ruhwedel down in Hartford is not the option to replace Jones.
He could stay as the seventh d-man, but it feels unlikely. The 24-year-old is unhappy and hasn’t played since Dec. 23. Even if he is not traded before March 7, there doesn’t seem to be a spot for him next season, especially with Vaakanainen here. Even if Lindgren leaves, the Rangers will find a better top-four option to sign ahead of giving Jones the opportunity to play.
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