What’s next for Rangers defensive corps with Carson Soucy’s return
Defenseman Carson Soucy was in the lineup for the New York Rangers when they hosted the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. He was activated earlier in the day after missing four games with an upper-body injury, and his return figures to cause some shuffling along the Rangers’ blue line.
Soucy ditched his red non-contact jersey for a regular sweater during New York’s morning skate, joining Braden Schneider on the third pairing. While coach Mike Sullivan labeled Soucy as a game-time decision, the 31-year-old confirmed he was feeling 100 percent and is ready to return.
“It looked worse than it was,” Soucy said of his injury, alluding to a scary moment during the second period of an Oct. 11 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins when he awkwardly went headfirst into the boards.
Soucy’s return resulted in 22-year-old defenseman Scott Morrow being reassigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers’ AHL farm team, after practice. Urho Vaakanainen, who’s been a third-pairing regular, stayed behind with the other expected scratches and didn’t dress for a game for the first time this season.
New York acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks in early March, sending a conditional 2025 third-round pick in return. He suited up for 16 games in the final six weeks of the 2024-25 season, tallying three points and a plus-2 rating. The 31-year-old began this season playing alongside Will Borgen on the second pair; he has one point, a goal, in three games.
How Soucy’s return affects Rangers’ blue line
1. Matthew Robertson vs Urho Vaakanainen
Soucy’s return forced one of New York’s other left-handed defensemen out of the lineup. Vladislav Gavrikov is ensconced on the first pair with Adam Fox, so that battle comes down to Matthew Robertson and Vaakanainen.
Robertson broke camp with the Rangers as their seventh defenseman, slotting into the lineup only after Soucy’s injury. Yet it’s Vaakanainen who spent Monday watching instead of playing.
Although Sullivan refrained from committing in either direction, he confirmed after the morning skate that Robertson has forced his way into the conversation with a strong four-game stretch.
The 24-year-old scored his first NHL goal in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens and has settled in nicely alongside Borgen, showing a responsible defensive game. In more than 55 minutes together, the Robertson-Borgen duo leads all Rangers defensive pairings with a 64.9 expected goals percentage, per MoneyPuck.
Robertson and Borgen skated together Monday morning, so it appears Sullivan will keep that tandem intact, even with Soucy returning.
Vaakanainen appeared in each of the first seven games, but his ice time had diminished due to Robertson’s strong play. After averaging more than 17 minutes in the first three games of the season, the former No. 18 overall pick hasn’t skated more than 14:10 in any of the four subsequent games with Robertson in the lineup.
In Saturday’s victory, Vaakanainen skated a season-low 12:22 and got just four shifts in the third period.
As long as Robertson continues to impress, it’s going to be tough for Vaakanainen to get back into the lineup, barring another injury.
2. Scott Morrow returns to the AHL
The Rangers recalled Morrow after just one game with the Wolf Pack, wanting seven healthy defensemen available after a brief injury scare.
Borgen sustained a lower-body injury on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers and missed Wednesday’s practice. But he was in the lineup for Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs and played a season-high 20:45 on Saturday.
Morrow was a healthy scratch for both games, and with Soucy on track to return, the 22-year-old defenseman is headed back to Hartford, where he’ll play in all situations.
While Borgen’s injury created a temporary need for a reserve right-handed defenseman, Morrow’s two-game stint with the Rangers was spent in the press box. The second-round pick (No. 40 overall) in 2021 has played 16 NHL regular-season games, 14 of them last season with the Carolina Hurricanes; he also played five playoff games for the ‘Canes in the 2025 playoffs. Still, some more seasoning in the AHL will likely be to his benefit.
Morrow’s offensive skills are evident — he earned an AHL All-Star nod in 2024-25 after scoring 13 goals and putting up 39 points in 52 games. But he’s less polished on the other end of the ice. The Florida Panthers exploited this during the postseason, where Morrow was minus-5.
Morrow may find himself back in the NHL if there’s another injury, but unless a right-handed defenseman goes down, his path to playing time for now is in Hartford.
3. Soucy with Will Borgen — or Braden Schneider?
After playing with Borgen before his injury, Soucy is expected to play with Schneider on the third pair. While that’s likely more of a testament to the quick chemistry between Borgen and Robertson on the second pair, it’s worth monitoring how loyal Sullivan will be to the lines he showcased during Monday’s morning skate.
Schneider has enjoyed a strong start to the season and Soucy figures to be an upgrade over Vaakanainen, so keeping that pair together could yield a stronger defensive rotation.
That said, Borgen and Soucy were very effective together during New York’s first win of the season — a 4-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres — sharing the ice for a pair of goals, one of which Soucy scored himself.
It’s hard to argue with the results Robertson and Borgen have enjoyed through four games, but if that changes, could Sullivan revert to a more-experienced second pair in which the 31-year-old Soucy replaces the 24-year-old Robertson? That likely hinges on Robertson’s more than anything else.
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