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7 Vincent Trocheck Offseason Trade Landing Spots
One of the players we all thought could be headed elsewhere at the NHL trade deadline was New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck. When he wasn't dealt, it was a mild surprise until we remembered Rangers GM Chris Drury can hold a hard line when it comes to trades.
There's also the little part about Trocheck having no-trade protection (a 12-team list) and said he wouldn't approve going to a team out west that cut into his interest as well. His $5.625 million cap hit isn't too bad, but it could've been tricky to move at the deadline. Now that we're past that and the Rangers are looking ahead to next season, we're wondering if Trocheck winds up somewhere else over the summer.
Trocheck has been one of the Rangers' most solid players this season, and his performance for Team USA at the Olympics only made his value jump even more as a solid defender and faceoff winner.
Assuming he still won't want to go West, we'll break down a few teams that should take a run at him in the offseason to better their chances of success if the Rangers decide they still want to move him.
Boston Bruins
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The Bruins were hunting for help at the trade deadline for the playoffs, and although things were quiet, the offseason shouldn't be. Elliotte Friedman mentioned on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Bruins were trying to get Vincent Trocheck, and Kevin DuPont of the Boston Globe confirmed the B's were in on the Rangers' center.
It's a chase they should renew.
The Bruins may lack an absolute No. 1 center, but if they can have a setup that involves a bunch of centers that can defend well and outwork opponents, that would make them even more of a pain for teams to play against. With Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha in place up the middle, adding Trocheck to that group would help make the Bruins black and gold a lot more blue-collar.
It's not as if Trocheck doesn't have offensive capabilities, but winning draws and slowing down opposing scorers is where he thrives, and that style of game is how coach Marco Sturm has helped resurrect the Bruins this season.
Carolina Hurricanes
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If connecting Vincent Trocheck to the Hurricanes seems familiar, it most certainly is.
Trocheck played two-and-a-half seasons for Carolina from 2020 to 2022, and while he had success there, free agency came calling. His style of play seemed to be a good fit there eventually, and ever since he left Raleigh, it's felt like a return to the Hurricanes makes a lot of sense.
The Hurricanes have a natural player to put into a trade with Jesperi Kotkaniemi that helps balance the salary, but adding Trocheck up the middle could produce a bit of a crowded house with Sebastian Aho, Logan Stankoven, and Jordan Staal locking up the top three lines.
That said, Carolina is never against adding talent to the roster, and bringing Trocheck back could be a smart play if the Hurricanes can't push through the East to the Stanley Cup Final.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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As much as a Trocheck reunion in Carolina makes sense, sending Trocheck home to Pittsburgh also makes a lot of sense.
The Penguins' future at center is a bit fuzzy. Evgeni Malkin's contract is up after this season, and what happens next with him is unknown. Obviously, Sidney Crosby is locked in, and they've gotten great play from rookie Ben Kindel. Rickard Rakell can play some center, but they could really use the depth. That's where Trocheck comes into play.
Adding Trocheck to the Penguins' lineup next season, with at least Crosby and Kindel there and perhaps Malkin returning, would give them the kind of depth up the middle that would carry their playoff run this season into the next. Even more important, if Malkin retires or somehow ends up going elsewhere at age 40, acquiring Trocheck would soften that blow immensely.
Minnesota Wild
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Yeah, yeah, yeah... we know Vincent Trocheck said he wouldn't go West. But of all the teams in the Western Conference, Minnesota is right there in the middle of everything, geographically speaking. They're also right there as one of the best teams in the NHL, too.
The Wild have great players on the wings with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. They've got Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber on defense, and they've got great goaltending with both Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. What they're lacking is depth up the middle.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman are solid, and Danila Yurov and Michael McCarron have solid roles, but to better handle the likes of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, a player like Trocheck would go a long way towards helping. After all, what's better than having an outstanding two-way center like Eriksson Ek than having two of them with Trocheck in place as well?
If Trocheck would be OK with playing in St. Paul and having a Western Conference schedule and travel, it'd be a great fit, and with Bill Guerin running the show in Minnesota, those Olympic ties could help make it work.
Detroit Red Wings
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Just like the other Eastern Conference teams we've talked about, the Detroit Red Wings could've used a bit more juice and jam up front at the deadline. Vincent Trocheck would've made a great fit there, given their potential playoff matchups this year.
Detroit running with Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper on their top two lines is solid, but with Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher behind them, as defensively sound as they are, a little more offense could help out lower in the lineup. Getting a solid defender in Trocheck would also help them, as he's an excellent two-way player.
The Wings will have all of those players back next season, which means they'll know better how they match up against the best of the best in the East and have a better idea about who works best and where they could use upgrades. Regardless, Trocheck would give the Wings an upgrade at forward, particularly for specialized situational use.
Florida Panthers
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While many fans are enjoying seeing the Panthers struggle with injuries and look to be on the outside looking in on the playoffs, there's no doubt that GM Bill Zito is already working on plans to get them back into the playoffs and into the Stanley Cup picture again next year. One thing Zito has never been? Shy when it comes to big game hunting, and going after Vincent Trocheck would qualify.
The Panthers will have a healthy Aleksander Barkov next year, and the injuries we've seen Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand negotiate with this season will be gone with a full summer of rest. A fully rested and recharged Panthers team would be a dangerous one, and adding Trocheck to the mix would give them the center depth to be an absolute menace once again.
As great an idea as this would be for Florida, there are issues with it. The Panthers could lose their first-round pick this year to complete the Seth Jones trade if it's not in the Top 10, and they'll have new contracts to work out with A.J. Greer and Sergei Bobrovsky before July 1 or else risk losing them in free agency.
The Panthers are also running short on high-end prospects the Rangers would want. Still, such roadblocks have never hindered Florida in the past from getting what they want, and thinking about having Barkov, Sam Bennett, and Trocheck down the middle seems like the kind of mix they'd love to have.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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With how sorry things have been for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the moves they made at the deadline to free themselves from having to commit more money to some of their depth players, they're going to have to make some variety of bold moves in the offseason and they're going to need a lot of help if they're going to get back to the playoffs. Adding Vincent Trocheck would be a start.
The Leafs up the middle are strong as is with Auston Matthews and John Tavares, but beyond that, they're frighteningly thin. Asking Matthews and Tavares to do all the work at center has only helped drag down their overall play, but adding Trocheck would give them a definitive No. 3 center and someone who would take the heat off their top two for defensive responsibilities.
The Leafs will need a lot of help this summer, and they'll need it all over the ice, but making a play to add Trocheck would make a lot of sense. Then again, that means making a trade, and the Leafs' past efforts to make a run at the Stanley Cup have meant selling assets in the future.
They don't have a first- or second-round pick this year, got Colorado's first next year in the Nicolas Roy trade, and their prospects in the NHL have been used questionably, to say the least. Gunning for Trocheck is a long shot, but if they want help now, it would be a strong move.
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