Heading into Friday’s trade deadline, there is growing confidence that Vincent Trocheck will be traded from the New York Rangers. However, if you’re a fan of a Western Conference team, don’t expect Trocheck to be joining your club.
According to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic, Trocheck confirmed that he prefers to stay in the Eastern Conference. Mercogliano quoted Trocheck, saying, “It’s no secret. (West teams) are on my no-trade list.”
Trocheck’s comments indicate that every team on his 12-team no-trade clause is in the Western Conference. That theoretically leaves the possibility for four Western Conference teams to pursue Trocheck, as well as the entire Eastern Conference. Given that he’s also committed to winning, that could leave the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild as potential options, as they’re both in the Central Time Zone.
Any team interested in Trocheck will know exactly what they’re getting. He’s been remarkably consistent and healthy throughout his career, particularly during his tenure with the Rangers. Since signing a seven-year, $39.83MM ($5.63MM AAV) contract with New York in 2022, Trocheck has scored 85 goals and 238 points in 291 games, averaging 20:40 of ice time. Additionally, even though his cap hit will remain $5.63MM through the 2028-29 season, Trocheck will only have $14.5MM ($4.83MM/yr) remaining on the last three years of his contract.
There is nothing in Trocheck’s game that has suffered a steep fall off since entering his 30s. He remains physical, a quality performer in the faceoff dot, and defensively sound. For any playoff-bound team, there are few options better than Trocheck built for the postseason.
The two notable Eastern Conference teams that have been heavily linked to Trocheck are the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings. Trocheck should be comfortable with either club, given that both are competitive this season and he has ties to both. He played two and a half years with the Hurricanes before ultimately signing as a free agent with the Rangers.
Additionally, despite being born in Pittsburgh, Trocheck spent his amateur hockey days with the Detroit-based Little Caesars hockey program before joining the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Furthermore, Trocheck’s wife, Hillary, grew up in the Saginaw, MI area.
NYR GM Drury is gonna F this up
LOL. My comment before I read yours: “Why do I feel like Drury is going to get fleeced here?”
Because he always gets fleeced
More self proclaimed insider B.S., We will learn soon enough all the facts, All the moving, And shaking, Just ignore all the noise, And manufactured rumors.
To be fair, it was a quote from Trocheck himself, not from an insider.
Vinny to Buffalo for Quinn,Kesselring and a 2nd rd pick 2027.
Weakens Buffalo’s blueline. I would expect Drury to want a center back.
SLASH you need to learn how to read. It was a direct quote from the player. How is that considered a manufactured rumour?
I’m going to guess that the 4 western teams he can’t block are Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado, and Vegas.
How many teams can handle his cap hit for so many years ? I doubt NYR are retaining salary for multiple seasons. Even if they fit him in, it may leave many with little space to do much else. Detroit can easily handle his salary so that is very possible where he lands.
Also, noone knows how long Trochek will perform at this level as he’s going on 33. Forwards can decline quickly at this age.
Based on these factors, the return on him can’t be as high as some may think.
Both Detroit and Carolina can easily afford Trochek.
There’ve been some skyhigh packages for relatively one-dimensional players in their thirties in recent years (Brandon Carlo, for instance). Let’s review: Trocheck’s still a strong scorer, he’s an elite penalty killer, he’s elite on the dot, he’s physical, and he’s on one of the most team-friendly deals in the league for a non-ELC. There’s always a risk of serious decline at his age, but it’s only a risk, and Drury would have to be a total idiot not to insist on at least a 1st rounder and a very solid young player. He ought to get more than that.
And really, how many teams could handle his cap hit over the next four years? ALL of them. There isn’t a team in the league that can’t fit in that hit, long term.
And therein lies the problem. According to many, Drury IS a total idiot.
There was a report over the weekend that Vinnie stopped a trade to Minnesota. Don’t know if it’s true or not but the Wild may be on his no trade list.
It has been confirmed MN is not one of the teams on his No list.
The report was MN may not give what NYR want in a trade.
He actually tried to jokingly sneak into the MN Wild’s team USA photo.
Colorado could use him.
We (Canes) could send 19 back to them along with Kotkeniemi, and retain both salaries. Then, we get Faulk to replace #19.
Miller’s not doing it for you? Looking at his stats on hockey-reference, it seems like he’s playing the best defense of his career.