The New York Rangers open their season on Tuesday night. Head coach Mike Sullivan will lead his Rangers against his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speaking to the media after the morning skate, Sullivan teased an experiment using Braden Schneider at the point on a powerplay unit.
“We think that in trying him there, we wanted to explore it a little bit and see if it’s something he can grow into. You might see Foxy, depending on how the power plays go… stay at the top for the second unit,” said Sullivan to the media about Schneider playing the point on the powe play, according to Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports.
Based on video from the morning skate, if Schneider is on the top unit, he would join Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Mika Zibanejad. Adam Fox filled that point role during the morning skate. Still, Sullivan's comments seem to suggest the team could place Schnieder there, placing Fox on the second unit. Fox would then join Matt Rempe, Will Cuylle, Alexis Lafreniere, and Conor Sheary on the second unit.
Making adjustments to the powerplay may be a wise decision for Sullivan. The unit ranked 28th in the NHL, converting on just 17.6 percent of their chances in 2024-25. Fox was the point man on the top unit last year. He lit the lamp once on the man advantage while also adding 17 assists.
Schnieder does not have much powerplay experience in his career. He did not spend substantial time on the ice when the Rangers were up a man in 2024-25. Further, in his 286 games in the NHL, he has tallied just one powerplay assist. The team needs a point man for one of the two units, though. K'Andre Miller filled that role in 2024-25, having two assists. He is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Zac Jones also spent time in that spot, and he is now with the Buffalo Sabres.
