TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Vincent Trocheck skated in a non-contact jersey at New York Rangers practice Monday, meaning his return from an upper-body injury could be near. The center is still on long-term injured reserve but is eligible to come off whenever he’s ready.
Trocheck did not go through line rushes or special-teams work Monday, so don’t count on him playing Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Coach Mike Sullivan said he’ll “probably get a better sense over the next couple of days” on how close Trocheck is to re-entering the lineup. In the meantime, the coach likes having him back at practice.
“Just his presence being around the group means the world, just with his leadership, his energy,” Sullivan said. “The fact that he joined the group today suggests that he’s getting closer.”
In other Rangers injury news, Urho Vaakanainen is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Matthew Robertson skated as the third-pair left defenseman at practice with Connor Mackey called up as injury insurance. Matt Rempe moved to injured reserve.
Trocheck got hurt in the second game of the season, having one assist before leaving the lineup. A contributor on the power play and penalty kill, the 32-year-old has scored at least 22 goals and 59 points in each of his three seasons with the Rangers. His pending return will be a boost for the Rangers and will force interesting lineup decisions from Sullivan.
For one, Sullivan will have to choose one forward to sit. The likely candidates are Jonny Brodzinski and Juuso Pärssinen, both of whom have been in and out of the lineup this season. Sullivan has played Pärssinen for more games than Brodzinski (nine games to five) but has tended to trust Brodzinski with more ice time per game (9:32 to 9:15). Both have similar production levels. They have plus defensive ratings, according to colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, but negative offensive ones. If Sullivan wants fourth-line consistency, he can leave Brodzinski in, since he’s been playing with Adam Edström and Sam Carrick. The 24-year-old Pärssinen brings a bit more size at 6-foot-3, and the organization signed him to a two-year, $1.25 million average annual value contract going into the year.
J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad have said they like playing together, a connection that might influence how the Rangers’ forward lines are deployed. (Derek Cain / Getty Images)
Though the fourth-line question is pretty straightforward — Brodzinski or Pärssinen comes out — the top nine has more permutations. Let’s look at some of Sullivan’s options as he considers how to reintegrate Trocheck.
Load the top six
Artemi Panarin – J.T. Miller – Mika Zibanejad
Will Cuylle – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafrenière
Conor Sheary – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
Zibanejad and Miller have both said they like playing together, and Sullivan sees them as interchangeable at center and wing when on the ice together. He put them on a line with Panarin on the recent road trip. That trio remained the same at practice Monday.
“Our hope is that it will spark some of those guys offensively and get them going a little bit from a production standpoint,” Sullivan said. “They had a lot of looks in the games that we put them together in Edmonton in the third period and then again in Seattle. We’ll see where it goes moving forward.”
Inserting Trocheck on the second line would give Lafrenière and Cuylle a more experienced offensive center than Laba. Sullivan will have to weigh whether the benefits of a strong top six are worth a third line that doesn’t look very strong on paper, considering Sheary was in the AHL most of last year and Laba in college.
Laba’s strong play — a positive early-season development for the Rangers — could make that more palatable. Raddysh, a bottom-six player for Washington last season, has also gotten off to a good scoring start and leads New York with five goals. That has earned him some top-six opportunities. He has a 27.8 shooting percentage, though, and that should regress. Sheary has been serviceable to start the season in his quest to re-establish himself as a full-time NHLer, so perhaps that potential line can provide enough for Sullivan to feel comfortable.
The coach currently has Sheary and Raddysh with Pärssinen, whom he has generally trusted less than Laba this season. Sullivan could see the rookie as an upgrade at center for that line.
Noah Laba has impressed at center so far this season, which could make Mike Sullivan’s lineup questions easier to solve. (Bob Frid / Imagn Images)
Balance the middle six
Panarin – Miller – Zibanejad
Cuylle – Laba – Lafrenière
Sheary – Trocheck – Raddysh
This lineup would also keep the top forwards together, while giving the third line more offense. Lafrenière, Laba and Cuylle played well together against Seattle with a 77.45 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. Sullivan said Laba’s improvement led to the staff feeling comfortable moving Zibanejad back to wing on the recent western road trip, and perhaps Sullivan will want to keep him with top-six linemates.
“(Laba) has been playing (well),” Lafrenière said. “Skates well, good defensively, too. He does a lot of little things that are impressive. It’s good to see. He’s a pretty smart player, so he’s been fun to play with.”
If Sullivan went with this arrangement, he could get Trocheck some minutes back through special-teams time and by putting him with the second line for stretches at the ends of periods. He wouldn’t be a typical third-liner in terms of minutes played.
Give Trocheck more offensive responsibility
Cuylle – Miller – Zibanejad
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafrenière
Sheary – Laba – Raddysh
This would reunite the Lafrenière-Trocheck-Panarin trio, which was one of the league’s best offensive lines in 2023-24. Their scoring numbers took a step back in 2024-25, as did most of the team’s. A lineup arrangement like this would be a bet on that trio delivering offense, and then the Miller line could handle hard defensive tasks when Sullivan is in control of matchups.
The Rangers need more offense from Panarin, who has only two goals and seven points through 13 games and none in his past five. Could putting him back with Trocheck and Lafrenière give him a boost? It’s something Sullivan has to at least consider.
Strength in the middle
Cuylle – Miller – Raddysh
Panarin – Zibanejad – Lafrenière
Sheary – Trocheck – Laba
Zibanejad has looked good to start the season and has played mostly at center. If he plays up the middle, New York has some of the best center depth in the NHL. That comes with drawbacks, though. It would force someone like Sheary or Raddysh into the top six and would move Laba to wing. If Sullivan doesn’t go with this arrangement right away, it could be an option longer term, especially if the Rangers are in the playoff mix and add at wing before the trade deadline.