Colin Stephenson: Rangers' Vincent Trocheck relieved, not joyful, after surviving trade rumors
The Rangers' Vincent Trocheck controls the puck during the first period against the Devils at Prudential Center on March 7, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
NEWARK — Maybe the 6-3 loss to the Devils and Team USA teammate Jack Hughes was the reason Vincent Trocheck looked so down on Saturday, but when he met with the media for the first time since the NHL trade deadline passed on Friday afternoon, he didn’t seem all that happy to still be a Ranger.
“I don’t know. I was just happy for it all to be over with,’’ Trocheck said when asked how he felt when the deadline passed and he hadn’t been traded. “You know, it’s a stressful waiting game whenever you’re in talks like that. So for me, it was just a roller coaster of emotions. And now that it’s done with for now is nice.’’
“For now.’’ Those are the key words.
The Rangers’ retool, which general manager Chris Drury announced in his Jan. 16 message to the fans, will continue into the summer and next season. And all of the things about Trocheck that made him so attractive to Stanley Cup-contending teams — that he’s a quality two-way center who can kill penalties, play on the power play and win faceoffs — will continue to make him a desirable commodity this summer and at next year’s deadline.
So the uncertainty, and the stress that goes with it, isn’t over for Trocheck. It’s just on pause for the next month or so until after the season ends.
Asked what he could share of his conversation with Drury after the deadline passed, Trocheck said, “Nothing.’’ That probably didn’t mean he didn’t speak to Drury; it more likely meant he wasn’t willing to share anything about the conversation.
“It is what it is,’’ he said when asked about the possibility of being traded over the summer. “The trade deadline’s over. I can’t get traded the rest of the year, and I’ll just play my game.’’
There’s this to consider, too: Instead of being traded to a team that is heading to the playoffs and might have a chance to win a Stanley Cup, he’s stuck with the Rangers and will be playing out the string the last 20 games. How much fun is that going to be?
Saturday’s game wasn’t much fun. The Rangers, who went 2-0-2 in their first four games back from the Olympic break, weren’t very good against a Devils team that has been one of the league’s bigger disappointments.
After the Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play and 0-for-3 on the penalty kill, coach Mike Sullivan said the special teams “cost us the game.’’ Hughes, who scored the overtime goal against Canada that gave the USA the gold medal, had a hat trick that gave him 19 goals in 24 games against the Blueshirts.
“I can’t say enough good things about Jack,’’ Trocheck said, his face finally lighting up. “His play spoke for itself at the Olympics. Obviously, he was one of our best players, and he scores the goal that made me a gold medalist. And then obviously, the way he’s handled post-Olympics . . . It’s been a blessing to have him as kind of the poster boy for Team USA. He’s handled everything so well, with such humility, and it’s been an honor to watch him.’’
On Monday, Sullivan had said “nothing’s etched in stone’’ regarding Trocheck’s being traded. Before Saturday’s game, he said he didn’t have any inside information that day but knew “how much we value Troch and what he brings to this team, and that if Chris were going to make a deal, it was going to be because he was going to put the organization in a better position moving forward. And [Drury] didn’t deem that anything was worthy of that, given the fact that we value Troch as much as we do.’’
Trocheck said his teammates gave him a “Welcome Back’’ greeting Saturday when they saw him for the first time since he was been held out of the lineup for Thursday’s game against Toronto.
Mika Zibanejad said he texted Trocheck right after the 3 p.m. deadline passed Friday. He smiled and his eyes lit up when he talked about having Trocheck still on the team.
“Selfishly, I’m happy that he’s here,’’ Zibanejad said. “I’m happy that he’s still with us, and as a teammate, as a friend, I’m happy.’’
He looked a lot happier than Trocheck did.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
