As the Rangers continue to lose and dig themselves into a bigger hole, the trade deadline and revamping the roster is coming into focus. Many have rightfully agreed that outside of the obvious rentals to sell, that this is the best time to trade Vincent Trocheck. The Rangers need to retool quickly, and Trocheck is the only piece over 30 years of age that can bring in a haul and truly kickstart the retool. While not an indictment about his play, the Rangers should capitalize on his value now, before it’s too late.
This isn’t uncharted waters for the Rangers
When the Rangers traded Derick Brassard in 2016, it was viewed as a short term loss with the potential to be a long term homerun. Brassard was a fan favorite and was coming off back-to-back 60 point seasons–well, 58 points in his final season with the Rangers, but let’s round up. He was the obvious 2C on a team starved for center depth and was just 27 years old at the time of the trade.
We all saw what happened. The Rangers got Mika Zibanejad and a 2nd round pick in the trade. As Zibanejad’s career took off, Brassard never even touched 40 points again. The Rangers capitalized on Brassard’s peak value, turning him into a young 22 year old center that would become one of the best trades in franchise history.
The same theory applies to Trocheck. If the Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck, they’d be capitalizing off three straight 60 point seasons, with a fourth in progress right now (26 points in 31 games). It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, as Trocheck will be 33 in July and comes with a 12 team no-trade clause that becomes 10 teams in July. His $5.625 million cap hit is a bargain for his 60 point production and veteran presence, something playoff teams covet.
Trade Vincent Trocheck now, before Artemi Panarin leaves
Aside from being the most valuable trade chip on the Rangers, the argument to trade Vincent Trocheck gets stronger when you look at his play away from Artemi Panarin. Since the 2022-2023 season, Trocheck has played a whopping 2,556:39 with Panarin and just 1,089:31 without him. That’s a big enough sample to make a pretty blanket statement: Trocheck without Panarin is not the same hockey player.
For what it’s worth: Panarin’s number dip when away from Trocheck, but not by 20% across the board.
While not a perfect science, a major indicator that Trocheck is being propped up by Panarin is what his possession stats look like when the two are separated. With all signs pointing to Panarin moving on from the Rangers and possibly being traded before the Olympics, then the calls to trade Vincent Trocheck will get louder. Trocheck is a fine player and is quite the bargain, but if it means keeping him to “hopefully” compete or trading him to get younger and faster, the answer is clear.
If the Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck, it’s going to have to be in a deal similar to what led them to trade Brassard a decade ago. It’s not about the player, as Trocheck has been a solid contributor. It’s about maximizing value and perhaps having another Mika Zibanejad fall into their laps. The latter isn’t likely to happen again, but if the Rangers can get themselves a young center that keeps the aging JT Miller on the wing, then it’s a deal that has to be made.
If the Rangers trade Vincent Trocheck, or are even exploring the possibility, then now is the time to do it. It’s better to trade a player one year too early than one year too late. The Rangers are not one offseason away from competing, and every single player should be on the table to make the team better in the next 2-3 years. Trocheck has been a great Ranger, but he should not be untouchable.
It’s not a “trade Vincent Trocheck no matter what” type of situation. But if the Rangers want to get as much value as possible and hopefully make that 2-3 year window closer to 1-2 years, then it would be wise to trade Vincent Trocheck now, before age and playing without Panarin catch up to him.