Braden Schneider was shut down by the Rangers for the final two games of the 2024-25 campaign because of an upper-body injury the 23-year-old defenseman has apparently been dealing with this season.
Once the Blueshirts were officially eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend at Carolina, the organization wanted Schneider to begin the recovery process.
He is expected to be ready by the start of next season, per a source.
“It was good, he’s a warrior,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Schneider’s season. “Plays hard for us all the time. We’ll get more into that once the season ends, but he’s done a good job for us.”
In his fourth season with the Rangers, Schneider finished with career highs in goals (6), assists (15) and points (21) through 80 games.
He skated with six different defensive partners throughout the season — which is not out of the ordinary for Schneider, who has played with a surplus of players since making his debut Jan. 13, 2022.
Schneider opened the season in a top four role alongside ex-captain Jacob Trouba for the first seven games, with Ryan Lindgren on injured reserve. He bounced around for a majority of the season, however, spending the most time on the Rangers bottom pairing.
He also saw minutes next to Zac Jones, K’Andre Miller, Will Borgen, Urho Vaakanainen and the since-traded Victor Mancini.
As one of five defensemen, and only one of two regulars (Adam Fox) who are signed through next season right now, Schneider should be in line for a legitimate shot at an increased role.
He’ll be wrapping up the two-year, $4.4 million extension he signed with the Rangers on July 13, 2024.
The final two games of the season were always going to be a formality after the Rangers were knocked out of playoff contention with Saturday’s 7-3 loss to the Hurricanes.
Asked what they had to play for in the final games, Vincent Trocheck was blunt.
“Pride,” he said stoically.
That began Monday night at Florida with a 5-3 win over the Panthers team that ended the Rangers’ season last year on its way to winning the Stanley Cup.
It was the first opportunity for the Rangers to experiment and give certain rookies a real look in preparation for next season.
Without Schneider, Matthew Robertson was able to make his NHL debut six years after the Rangers drafted him 49th overall. Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault were also reinserted into the lineup and into the top six, as was pending restricted free agent Jones in place of Vaakanainen.
The only rookie on the roster who wasn’t in the lineup was Brett Berard, who was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the previous 11 games.
Matt Rempe was a standout after posting a two-point effort in Monday’s victory, during which his season-long growth was on full display.
“Huge, huge growth for Remp,” Laviolette said. “He’s attacking the ice now with the puck. From our end, he’s getting it with a little bit of speed underneath it before our blue line. He’s attacking the neutral zone, he’s going to the net, he’s making plays, he’s going through defenders. He played a heck of a game tonight.
“The growth has been visible for everybody, not just me, but everybody sees it that watches him play.”
It’ll be interesting to see if the Rangers go with all five of the rookies in the season finale Thursday at the Garden..
For Othmann, who was a healthy scratch for two games before playing Monday at Florida, there is one thing at the top of the list he’d like to get out of it.
“First goal,” he said with a laugh, referencing the fact that he has yet to score through his first 21 NHL games. “You get one game left to do that and you got to wait three or four months. That’s just a personal goal, but like Troch said the other night, we’re just going to play with pride the last game. I personally think we still have a pretty good locker room. We have a lot of older guys that even though we’re out and it’s going to be a long summer, I think a lot of them are still enjoying the moment and enjoying these last few days together.
“Obviously, we want to win against Tampa Bay on Thursday, and for me, I would love to see if I can get one in the final game.”
