On Saturday, the Rangers re-signed Braden Schneider to a bridge deal. The cap hit is $2.2 million per year.

A former first round pick in 2020, the 22-year-old defenseman completed his third season with the Rangers. He played in every game, including the playoffs.

Schneider had five goals with 14 assists for 19 points during the regular season. He added 167 hits and 133 blocks. In 16 games during the postseason, he tallied two assists while registering 32 hits and 34 blocks.

He saw his role increase due to captain Jacob Trouba struggling with a broken ankle. Schneider was paired with K’Andre Miller for a good portion of the Rangers’ playoff run. His average ice time increased to 17:32, which was up from 15:54.

There’s a strong possibility that Schneider could supplant Trouba on the second pair next season. That’ll depend on what transpires between now and training camp. With nothing new to report on Trouba, who Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury hoped to trade, catching the veteran by surprise, the likelihood is that he’ll stay put.

By signing Schneider to a fair deal, Drury will turn his attention to Ryan Lindgren. The unsigned restricted free agent filed for salary arbitration last week. A date hasn’t been set.

Lindgren completed a deal that paid him an average of $3 million. The number on his next contract should be over $4 million. How high it goes will depend on negotiations. It’ll be interesting to see what the term is. The Rangers likely don’t want to commit more than four years to a blood and guts player who could be susceptible to breaking down.

With Chad Ruhwedel also re-signed to a two-way deal, it looks like the Rangers are set on the blue line. Unless something unforeseen happens with Lindgren, they’ll likely head into September with the same defensemen except recently departed Erik Gustafsson (signed by Detroit).

That means Zac Jones should become a regular, with Ruhwedel and Matthew Robertson battling it out with Ben Harpur for the seventh defenseman role. Jones took a step forward when he filled in for injured defensemen last season. A fast skater who can transition quickly, his defensive play improved. It’ll be refreshing to see him play on the third pair. He deserves the opportunity.

With the off-season now as stagnant as the hot weather, there probably won’t be much else happening. Stay cool.