Photo credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Vincent Trocheck trade buzz with the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild just hit a wall, because his contract term is the real stopper.
Insider talk keeps circling the same fit, Minnesota wants right-shot help down the middle who can win draws and handle hard minutes.
Trocheck checks those boxes, and he plays the kind of details game that travels in the playoffs. He can take big faceoff volume, kill penalties, and still slide into that bumper spot on the man advantage when a coach wants a second look.
But here’s what’s slowing everything down: he is not a pure rental, and that changes the entire price and risk.
“I think Trocheck makes a lot of sense. They need right shots, he’s great on faceoffs, can kill penalties and could even help in the bumper position on the PP. He hasn’t had a good year, but very few Rangers have. They would be interested in Robert Thomas as well, but the challenge is they have already traded away a lot of assets,” Russo on C trade options for #Wild @sports1440
Minnesota can stomach the cap number. Living with the back half of the deal is the harder sell, especially if the Rangers demand premium futures to move a player they control for years.
The Wild also already spent big on their blue line, so the “how many picks are left?” conversation matters just as much as the player.
That’s the trade cold shower, the Rangers will want a real piece, and Minnesota has to decide if Trocheck is worth paying twice, once in assets, then again in years.
Major turn of events strikes the New York Rangers regarding Vincent Trocheck
The 32-year-old forward is currently sitting at 11-22-33 in 39 games this season.
If Minnesota adds him, he instantly lets Joel Eriksson Ek breathe, and it gives their top-six a right-shot pivot who can actually start shifts with the puck.
If New York trades him, replacing those minutes is brutal, because the Rangers are already thin at center and trying to “retool” without falling into a full crater.
So the “major thing” stopping it right now is simple. It’s not the player, it’s the years attached to him, and the price that comes with those years.
If this ever moves, it’ll be because the Rangers soften the ask, or the Wild decide this is the swing that makes their spring.
Previously on NY Hockey Insider
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Major turn of events: Trade chatter surrounding Rangers veteran Vincent Trocheck hits a significant snag
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