Rangers and Braden Schneider agree to one-year $5.5M deal

The New York Rangers and defenseman Braden Schneider avoided a scheduled arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $5.5 million contract on Monday, July 13, 2026. The deal leaves Schneider as a restricted free agent next summer.

Schneider, 24, was coming off a two-year contract that carried an average annual value of $2.2 million and had been issued a qualifying offer of $2.64 million. His arbitration hearing had been set for July 29. The new contract represents a significant raise for the defenseman, who was selected 19th overall by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The agreement comes amid a significant offseason retool of the Rangers' defense by general manager Chris Drury. In recent weeks, the team has acquired Sean Durzi as part of a trade that sent veteran forward Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth, traded for Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks, and dealt Will Borgen to the Boston Bruins for draft picks. These moves have solidified the team's top defensive pairings, which is expected to return Schneider to a third-pair role for the upcoming season.

Last season, Schneider played in all 82 games, establishing career highs with an average of 20 minutes and 27...