Carson Soucy knew he was on the block the morning before the NHL trade deadline day. Amid a disappointing season with the Vancouver Canucks, the defenseman received word from his agent that several teams were interested in acquiring him, and soon he reached out to former Seattle Kraken teammate Will Borgen to share the news that one club was pushing a little harder than most.
“It could be New York,” he said to his close friend.
When the Rangers agreed to land Soucy from the Canucks for a 2025 third-round pick, the 30-year-old Alberta native first needed to sign off on the deal, thanks to the full no-trade clause in his contract. He wrestled with the decision for a couple of hours, worrying about the strain that a cross-continent move would put on his wife, Shyla, and their 1-year-old twin girls. She assured him they would make it work.
Soucy talked to another former teammate while making the decision: J.T. Miller, who played with him in Vancouver, told him New York was a good spot. If a deal was on the table, Miller advised, Soucy should waive his no-trade clause. After conversations with Miller, Borgen, his family and his agent, Soucy recounted later, doing just that “kind of seemed like an easy choice.”
The Rangers’ front office made the deal not only to boost this…
