New York Rangers trade grades: Carson Soucy shipped to Islanders
The New York Rangers traded Carson Soucy to the their biggest rival, the New York Islanders, on Monday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Soucy was held out of the lineup for roster management when the Rangers rallied past the Boston Bruins for a 4-3 overtime victory, and the trade was officially announced after the final buzzer at Madison Square Garden.
Soucy is the first player moved after Rangers general manager Chris Drury released a letter on Jan. 16 announcing the team’s decision to embrace a retool.
It’s only the fourth trade ever made between the Rangers and Islanders, and first since May 2010.
The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks last March in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick. New York acquired the pick earlier that same day in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights; it became the first pick of the third round (No. 65 overall) in last year’s draft.
Soucy recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists) with a plus-six rating in 62 games with the Rangers, spanning the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. He’ll have a chance to make an immediate impact against his former squad when the Rangers and Islanders play a home-and-home set Wednesday and Thursday.
Grading Carson Soucy trade between Rangers and Islanders
New York Rangers: B-
The Rangers didn’t get a haul — nor should they have expected one for a 31-year-old physical defensive defenseman who becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this summer. All things considered, recouping a third-round pick is the best-case return for Soucy.
The Islanders (28-19-5) sit third in the Metropolitan Division and 13th overall in the NHL. As things currently stand, that third-round draft pick would be No. 84 overall.
That’s a drop of nearly 20 spots from the third-rounder the Blueshirts flipped to the Canucks to get Soucy in the first place. Of course, it’s worth remembering Soucy came at a higher price last season, when he still had a year and a half of term left on his contract. In the grand scheme of things, the Rangers got a one-year rental of Soucy for a third-round pick swap.
Soucy enjoyed a lively start to the 2025-26 season, but his play at both ends of the ice tapered over the last month. With New York’s mission reframed from playoff contention to a roster reset, it was a no-brainer to recoup any possible value for a veteran defenseman on an expiring contract.
The return won’t warrant much excitement, and rightfully so. It’s a short list of third-round picks in the last decade who’ve enjoyed notable NHL success. And even then, the likes of Adam Fox (No. 66 overall 2016), Morgan Geekie (No. 67 overall 2017), and Fabian Zetterlund (No. 63 overall 2017) were each selected early in the third round, much too early for the pick the Rangers received from the Islanders.
That’s not to say hitting on the pick is impossible. The Washington Capitals drafted power forward Aliaksei Protas No. 91 overall in 2019. The Vegas Golden Knights selected talented scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev No. 71 overall that same year. In 2018, the Anaheim Ducks nabbed starting goalie Lukas Dostal with the No. 85 overall pick. It’s possible to find a gem — albeit not very probable.
At worst, it’s another asset the Rangers can use, either in the draft or in a trade. It’s far from a home run, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances.
New York Islanders: B
File this one as a low-risk upgrade for the Islanders.
Barring a complete second-half collapse, they shouldn’t mourn the loss of a third-round pick. As previously mentioned, the odds of that player becoming an NHL-caliber talent aren’t particularly high.
Soucy may not have a high ceiling — particularly offensively — but he’s a clear upgrade over Adam Boqvist, and he’s more seasoned than the 21-year-old Isaiah George. With Ryan Pulock nursing an upper-body injury, the Islanders need another option to plug into their defensive corps, especially with left-shot defenseman Alexander Romanov possibly out until May after shoulder surgery in late November.
It hasn’t always been pretty this season. Soucy sports a 46.37 expected-goals-for percentage at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. Then again, that would rank fourth among qualified Islanders defensemen, trailing only Matthew Schaefer, Adam Pelech, and Pulock.
Other models spin a more favorable tale. Soucy, who averaged more than 17 minutes TOI mainly skating on the second defense pair with Will Borgen, ranks in the 83rd percentile defensively on Evolving Hockey. Hockey Stat Cards slots him third in defensive rating among Rangers blue liners. It’s not outlandish to think he’ll be a serviceable bottom-pair defenseman on Long Island.
The Islanders have the makings of a playoff contender, and it never hurts to have a player like Soucy who’s capable of matching that postseason physicality.
In an ideal world for the Islanders, Soucy becomes a fixture on the backend ahead of a potential playoff run. If it doesn’t click, it’s not like general manager Mathieu Darche paid a hefty price. It’s not a flashy move by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not much of a gamble on the Islanders’ part.
