This past offseason, the New York Rangers made the difficult decision to cut bait with 25-year-old defenseman K’Andre Miller. Loaded with potential, the organization believed he would become a pillar of their blue line for years to come, but financial considerations and uncertainty over Miller’s development forced their hand with free agency on the horizon.
Though next summer is ways off, the Rangers could find themselves in an almost identical scenario with Braden Schneider.
After the Rangers traded up on draft day in 2020 to land Schneider, he hasn’t quite proved worthy of a pricey long-term commitment at this stage of his career.