New York Rangers have a Vincent Trocheck conundrum

Rangers' lack of choices makes Vincent Trocheck appealing option

Rangers center Vincent Trocheck will be the litmus test for what this looks like. Trocheck is 32 (turning 33 in July). He's on the back nine of an impressive career as a two-way forward. He's a true all-situations utility player — capable of playing basically anywhere in a team's top nine as a center or winger while also playing on the power play, penalty kill and in four-on-four and three-on-three situations. He's been selected as a member of the U.S. Olympic team for this reason. 

Drury, an assistant for Team USA, signed Trocheck to a seven-year, $39.375 million contract following the 2021-22 season. He was an upgrade on unrestricted free agent Ryan Strome, who the Rangers allowed to hit free agency despite helping the team to a surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Trocheck has everything that a competitive team would want, including a relatively manageable cap hit. He's playing at a 66-point pace. Despite missing 14 games, he's still top 60 in the NHL among centers in total points, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's tied for 61st on Spotrac's ranking of centers by salary-cap hit.

Is it still a retool if the Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck?

If the Rangers intend only to retool, then why trade Trocheck? Doesn't that signal a larger amount of roster surgery? There are two elements at play here for the Rangers.

First, even if they intend to return to contention quickly, that still might not mesh with Trocheck's timeline. Trocheck has two additional seasons remaining on his contract. If the Rangers must jettison something to start moving forward again, it makes more sense to trade him now than to wait another season and add more wear-and-tear on his body. 

He checks every box for what GMs want this time of year — not overly expensive, not a rental, producing on a reasonable contract, limited trade protection and playing for an organization that can afford to retain money on his deal. There's a reasonable chance that, based on the conditions of the market, he could return more to the Rangers in a trade than superstar Panarin.

Second, can the Rangers be sure that Trocheck will be a No. 2 center by the time they're competitive again? As a tough player who can score at a top-six rate and play the type of north-south style that coaches love in the playoffs, his body's ability to hold up beyond this season is worth questioning.

An NHL GM trying to win a Stanley Cup in June can take that risk. Drury can't.