Despite reportedly having multiple significant offers on the table for star forward Vincent Trocheck ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury decided to hold onto the veteran for the rest of the 2025-26 season.
What was going through the executive's mind is hard to figure out — especially as the franchise has committed to a retool — but just because the gold medalist wasn't shipped out of the Big Apple, he could still be on the move this summer, as The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday.
“I think the New York Rangers made a mistake not taking their best offer for Trocheck before the deadline. I get it; they had a certain asking price, and it wasn’t met,” the hockey insider wrote in his latest column. “But Trocheck’s value was probably the highest it’s going to be, fresh off an Olympic gold-medal performance where he was a key member of a perfect penalty-killing unit for Team USA. His brand had been polished with perfect timing ahead of the trade deadline.”
LeBrun continued: “Trocheck turns 33 in July and won’t be playing any meaningful hockey the rest of the season. I’m not exactly sure how the trade offers are going to improve between now and the offseason. He’s got three more years on his deal at a $5.625 million cap hit with a modified no-trade clause (10 teams). He didn’t want to go west before the deadline.
“Let’s see if Trocheck widens his scope this offseason on the trade market. I think it’s likely he moves, given the direction of the Rangers. I’m just not sure why it needed to wait until the offseason.”
Rangers' Vincent Trocheck is having a terrific year
Trocheck has been one of New York's best players in 2025-26, and he continues to produce. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native registered three assists in a 6-2 drubbing of the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
He's up to 43 points in 48 games this season, playing a key role on both the powerplay and penalty kill for a lowly Blueshirts squad. He's second in team scoring, behind only Mika Zibanejad.
Not moving on from Trocheck will be a stain on Drury's reputation if he can't get a significant return for him over the summer. The Minnesota Wild reportedly had a huge offer on the table that involved a first-round pick and a prospect, and it's hard to understand why Drury and the front office didn't pull the trigger.
As LeBrun speculates, it's hard to see Trocheck's value increasing throughout the rest of the season and into the summer. After being part of a Team USA penalty kill at the Olympics that didn't give up a single goal, his ability to help a Stanley Cup contender would be tremendous, both offensively and defensively.
Instead, he'll play out the rest of the campaign on a defeated Rangers team that is 25-30-8 and dead last in the Eastern Conference with 19 games left.
