Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesVincent Trocheck was prepared to be traded by the New York Rangers, but the outcome of the NHL Trade Deadline forced him to quickly shift his focus.
After weeks of speculation and trade rumors, Trocheck was held out of the lineup due to roster management, as his departure from New York seemed to be imminent.
However, a trade never materialized, and the 3 PM NHL Trade Deadline came and went without a Trocheck deal.
This came as a surprise to Trocheck, who had opened up about the possibility of moving and his preferred destinations just a few days before the trade deadline.
“It is what it is. It’s a business, and it’s not the first time my name has been mentioned in trade rumors,” Trocheck said. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t, right? At the end of the day, I’m here to play hockey, and I’m a New York Ranger right now. That’s what I’m playing for, and I’m going to continue to do that.”
When Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury issued a letter on Jan. 16 outlining the team’s plan to retool the roster, it shifted the direction of the franchise.
Over the weeks after Drury’s letter was released, the Rangers traded multiple veteran players, including Carson Soucy, Artemi Panarin, and Sam Carrick.
Everybody assumed that Trocheck would be the next player to go.
Chris Drury ultimately wasn’t satisfied with the value Trocheck was generating on the trade market and decided it was best to hold onto him.
“Vincent Trocheck is a great player,” Drury said “He's been a great Ranger for us and a leader on and off the ice. Broadly speaking, to any player in the organization as it pertains to a retool and this trade deadline and moving forward is we're going to make deals that make sense.
“The deals we made today and leading up to this deadline, to us made sense. Certainly weren't going to make a trade on any player just to say we made a trade. We will always continue to try and make the team better. It certainly doesn't stop today at the 3 o'clock deadline.”
While Trocheck likely won’t be competing for a Stanley Cup this season now that he’s staying put in New York, he’s relieved that all of the uncertainty about his immediate future is behind him.
“I don’t know,” Trocheck said about his emotions after being told he was staying. “I was just happy for it all to be over with. It’s a stressful waiting game whenever you’re in talks like that.”
Trocheck’s long-term future is still in question. The Rangers are still supposedly “retooling” the roster and looking to get younger, so Trocheck’s eventual fate doesn't necessarily change; it just may delay the inevitable.
For now though, Trocheck has some time before he will have to reassess everything during the offseason.
“Awkwardness? No, I mean, these are my teammates,” Trocheck said. “I’ve been teammates with these guys for four years, so we’re all obviously open and honest with each other. It was kind of like, ‘Welcome back,’ whenever I saw them today for the first time in a couple days. But no, it’s not awkward. It just is what it is.”