Vincent Trocheck’s first trip back to Madison Square Garden comes quickly, and it already has the feel of a night the Rangers will be asked about long after the final horn.
The Utah Mammoth visit New York on Oct. 4, putting Trocheck back in the building where he spent four years before the Rangers finally moved him as part of their retool. New York had made it clear earlier this year that a reset was coming, and Trocheck - a center with real value and a heavy role on special teams - was always going to be in the middle of the conversation. About six months after general manager Chris Drury sent out his letter outlining the plan, Trocheck was dealt.
The return gave the Rangers defenseman Sean Durzi, forward prospect Cole Beaudoin, and a 2027 third-round pick. Trocheck had a partial no-move clause and approved the move to Utah, where he said he was looking forward to joining a Mammoth team that can win and that made the playoffs this past season.
There was plenty of noise around Trocheck before the deal got done. Reports had linked him to trade discussions at the deadline and again over the offseason, and the price New York was asking for him was said to be high. Sportnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently said the Rangers did consider keeping Trocheck for next season, but in the end both sides felt it was time to move on.
From the Rangers’ side, the appeal was obvious. Durzi gives them a puck-moving defenseman, and Beaudoin adds to the prospect pool.
But the hole Trocheck leaves behind is just as obvious. Even after adding Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand, New York still has a gap in the middle six of its forward depth chart.
Trocheck brought more than one thing to the lineup. He scored, he won face-offs, and he killed penalties. That kind of all-around production is not easy to replace, especially when it comes from the center position.
For Trocheck, though, this does not sound like a bitter return. He made that clear in an Instagram post thanking the Rangers organization and his teammates for his time in New York.
"To the Rangers staff, the unsung heroes, thank you all. For everything you did for me on a daily basis," wrote Trocheck.
"And finally to my teammates. I'm so grateful for the last four years with you.
From the on ice excitement, to the endless guys trips. Couldn't be luckier to have been able to be a part of your dressing room.
Love ya."
So the emotions around this one appear pretty simple: respect on both sides, no hard feelings, and one very early chance for the Rangers to see what they gave up. Still, if Trocheck finds the net in his return to New York, the questions about Drury’s decision to move him will come fast. The Rangers have time to add another forward before training camp, but Oct. 4 is already circled.
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Lundqvist was still there late enough to make the decision feel almost surreal, and the Rangers eventually took him in the seventh round. What followed was the kind of outcome teams spend decades hoping for, with Lundqvist becoming one of the greatest goalies in NHL history and the winningest netminder in Rangers history, a legacy that still makes the original draft story sound hard to believe. [Read more 🡒]