Maple Leafs Rumored To Have Interest In Acquiring Vincent Trocheck

If the New York Rangers look to trade Vincent Trocheck this offseason, one possible suitor has already emerged. 

The direction of the Toronto Maple Leafs changed with the hiring of general manager John Chayka and the team winning the NHL Draft Lottery and the first overall pick.

NHL insider Darren Dreger reported that the Maple Leafs have an interest in acquiring Trocheck. 

“We know that New York is trying to get off the contract of Trocheck. Toronto is among the teams that have interest, for sure,” Dreger said.

The 32-year-old forward was heavily rumored to be traded, as the Rangers’ playoff chances continued to plummet and the team looked to “retool” the roster with the goal of getting younger.

Trocheck was even held out of the lineup on March 5 due to roster management-related reasons in the Rangers’ last game ahead of the trade deadline, an indication that a deal involving Trocheck was imminent.

However, the trade deadline rolled around, and Trocheck remained with the Rangers.

“Once the trade deadline was over, it was just kind of for that stuff to be like, it's done for now,” Trocheck said. “I can just play hockey and my family can kind of relax. If something does happen in the summer, we at least have some to figure some stuff out. It was more to see what we had as a team after the deadline, going into the summer and trying to get the young guys acclimated. Just trying to see what we have I guess.”

With three seasons remaining on his current contract at a cap hit of $5.6 million, Trocheck is still preparing himself to potentially be traded out of New York. 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen… I’ll talk to my family about it,” Trocheck said of his future with the Rangers. “Try to see where we’re heading as a team… You want to see the team heading in a direction where we’re going to be working to contend.”