Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Vincent Trocheck is getting linked to the Minnesota Wild, and the New York Rangers retool suddenly feels like it’s coming for the center spine.
It fits the league-wide reality, contenders always pay for a true 2C with term, especially when faceoffs and matchup minutes matter. Trocheck obviously still producing, sitting at 11G-21A-32P, and he’s doing it while the Rangers grind through a messy season.
His contract is also the hook, a $5.625 million cap hit that runs long enough to count as a real piece, not a rental.
“While they will likely have interest in Vincent Trocheck and league sources say the Wild aren’t on his no-trade list, nothing was imminent over the weekend, and Guerin will likely do check-ins for any top center in the NHL.”
The rumor post goes a step further, claiming Minnesota is not on Trocheck’s no-trade list and that the ask starts with a premium prospect.
The names floated are the kind that make fans sit up straight, goalie Jesper Wallstedt or forward Danila Yurov.
That’s not a confirmed package, but it tells you the shape of the conversation, the New York Rangers are no doubt going to want a haul, not a polite pick and honestly probably not another goaltender.
Vincent Trocheck and New York Rangers feel the clock
Rangers fans are anxious, because it’s hard to hear «retool» and then watch a heartbeat player get dangled.
Wallstedt is 23, drafted in 2021, first round, by the Minnesota Wild, and he’s viewed as the kind of goalie prospect you build around. Yurov is 22, drafted in 2022, first round, by the Wild, and he’s the type of skilled bet teams hate to surrender unless they’re all-in.
For Minnesota, the pitch is simple, add a ready-made center who can steady a second line right now. However, the argument for the Rangers is colder, if you’re reshaping fast, you move value before it gets stuck in the standings mud.
There’s also real leverage in Trocheck’s deal, he has a limited no-trade list, not a full no-move, so more teams can actually be in the mix.
Tactically, losing him would hurt, because he drives the forecheck, wins draws, and keeps shifts alive in the dirty areas. But if the return is truly a top prospect, that’s how a retool becomes something you can feel two years from now.
Previously on NY Hockey Insider
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Rumor: Vincent Trocheck trade buzz heats up as Minnesota Wild’s GM makes two first-round picks available
Should the New York Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck to the Minnesota Wild?