TheNew York Rangers and GM Chris Drury acquired defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks in 2025 for a third-round pick. Since then, he's found himself out of the lineup and a regular fixture in the bottom four, when he is. The Rangers need him to earn his AAV and become a key piece on the team.
The Rangers have him on contract until the end of the 2026 NHL season. Until then, he'll have to justify himself by becoming a key piece in the lineup.
Soucy was acquired by Chris Drury, as he thought the blueliner could offer value for the kind of performance we've seen from him in the past.
«He's someone we could have in for the rest of the year and next year,» Drury said of Soucy upon acquiring him. «I just like the overall game - the size, the skating, the sense, how he defends. We were able to do some homework on him the last couple weeks and we're excited to get him with a piece we got in the Reilly Smith trade.»
Carson Soucy's Struggles in New York & Trade Rumors
Soucy would struggle at the start of his tenure with the Rangers and would become a regular scratch. His status would devolve, and his name floated around in trade rumors across the league, as if Drury was attempting to unload him so soon.
Despite the rumors, Soucy has remained a Blueshirt and escaped the fate of some of his peers.
The team ultimately has bigger plans for him after training camp:
He'll either play on the second pairing alongside Will Borgen, or Braden Schneider will move to the left side in order to play a top-four role, moving Soucy down to the third pairing.
The Rangers need him to be a reliable shutdown defenseman in the lineup and become more than the player he's been expected to be this late in his career.
