Vincent Trocheck has made it known that he wants to remain close to the East Coast, and that announcement this morning eliminated two potential bidders.
According to Vincent Mercogliano of The Athletic, who reported on Tuesday, the Pittsburgh native has no desire to move west, which makes the LA Kings and Colorado Mammoth improbable destinations even though both teams have inquired about the 32-year-old center during the 2025-26 season.
This significantly restricts the market in advance of free agency.
Trocheck is coming off a season that was… alright with the Rangers. Until you consider the minus-16 rating and a club that ended 34-39-9 and placed 29th overall, 53 points in 67 games seems fair.
In his previous 10 games, he scored just 5 points and had no power play goals throughout that period.
That is how he appears when he enters the open market. Not the top center that Rangers supporters had hoped for when he inked his previous contract for $5,625,000 annually.
Who’s really in the running for Trocheck’s East Coast market?
Pittsburgh is the first name that springs to mind. Kyle Dubas, the new general manager of the Penguins, has been active in reshaping the roster in his hometown. The demand is real and the budget may be there, as Pittsburgh concluded with 98 points and a 41-25-16 record, placing them 10th overall.
However, even after such a disastrous season, GM Chris Drury and the Rangers cannot be entirely disregarded.
Mike Sullivan, the new coach hired in May, will want his own center depth. Whether Trocheck fits that rebuild or represents precisely the costly middle-six veteran Drury needs to move on from, that’s the real question.
Trocheck had two shorthanded goals this season, showing that he still plays a lot of time on the penalty kill and contributes beyond only even-strength play.
He, on the other hand, had a -16 score for a side that was outscored overall by -12. That’s not a rounding error on a poor team. That’s a liability in both ways.
Any East Coast squad considering him is banking on a player who will be 33 at the start of training camp having a bounce-back year. Some front offices will still take that gamble. It is completely dependent on the term and the price to determine whether it is the correct one.
The East Coast announcement reduces the size of his market. It doesn’t make him a better player than what his last 10 games indicate.
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