Will Borgen’s contract costs the Rangers Braden Schneider

As rumors swirl about the Rangers retooling, Braden Schneider’s name has come up numerous times. Outside of Vincent Trocheck, Schneider would return the biggest returns as a young right-handed defenseman with pedigree. The NHL likes young RHDs who have a reputation for being defensively solid, and his trade return would help the Rangers significantly. However, this wouldn’t be a topic without the Will Borgen contract, as Chris Drury’s tunnel vision is going to cost him dearly.

Many seem to take umbrage at the idea that Schneider can and should be on the trading block. He has one objectively bad seasonbut isn’t that far removed from flirting with top-four effectiveness despite a torn labrum in his shoulder. Since every Ranger has had a rough season, it’s a little easier to brush this aside as a blip.

That said, Schneider is on the block because of the depth at the position, not because of his play. After all, Schneider is only 24 years old, so he fits the mold of a younger player who can help with the retooling. But with Adam Fox not going anywhere and Borgen signed permanently, the Rangers must find resources to address the reshuffle. Scott Morrow is steadily improving and EJ Emery is about 2-3 years away.

The problem lies with the Will Borgen contract. It was an overpayment at best as Drury signed him to a five-year contract with a cap hit of $4.1 million. With Borgen regressing after his stellar start, it’s starting to look more and more like a problem that Drury can’t simply dump. So the problem is not so much with Schneider, but with the Will Borgen contract. As for non-negotiable contracts, this is quite high, and he doesn’t even have clauses to deal with.

The Will Borgen contract locks him in as the Rangers 2RD for at least the duration of the reshuffle. That means, for better or worse, Schneider becomes the Rangers 3RD. As much as you may like Schneider, his projected $5 million cap hit is way too much for a 3rd player who doesn’t move the puck well. For example, Morrow is less than $1 million.

Even if you like the player, you can’t pay a premium price for what amounts to a depth position. This is where the Will Borgen contract hurts. Drury got tunnel vision on Borgen, sold Kaapo Kakko for pennies on the dollar (and if rumors are to be believed, he didn’t even buy him in the league) to land him, then gave him an extension almost immediately. He’s a decent bottom-four defender, but Will Borgen’s contract and Drury’s tunnel vision will cost Schneider.

To be clear, this isn’t necessarily about Schneider the player. He has not made the progress many had hoped, and that should not be ignored. The problem is the wiggle room and projected cap hit for what is essentially a bottom pair defenseman. Drury’s essentially dug itself into a big hole with the Will Borgen contract, and it leads to only one correct answer: Braden Schneider needs to be traded if the Rangers’ retool is to be successful.