Rangers rumors: Why Chris Drury didn’t trade Vincent Trocheck ahead of deadline

New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck was one of the top players available ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, but despite a sellers market, general manager Chris Drury did not move the veteran center before Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

That’s a slightly odd decision considering management has already admitted to a retool, and The Athletic’s Vince Mercogliano shed some light on the situation on Saturday morning.

“The word for weeks has been that Drury, who serves as both Rangers president and GM, was driving a hard bargain for his most valuable trade chip and telling teams he wouldn’t budge if they didn’t meet his price,” the hockey insider reported.

“It was considered unreasonably high by multiple sources from interested parties, some of whom thought — or at least hoped — that Drury was posturing and would reduce his ask as the deadline approached. He did not. Drury stood his ground, and when the dust settled, Trocheck — who has three years remaining on his contract at a $5.625 million cap hit — was still a Ranger.”

Although it’s been a brutal year for the Blueshirts, the same can’t be said for Trocheck. The 32-year-old has managed 39 points in 46 games, including six in his last five directly before the NHL Trade Deadline.

As Mercogliano reports, there were multiple offers on the table for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native.

Rangers had no shortage of offers for Vincent Trocheck

“The Rangers had offers in hand. The Minnesota Wild are believed to have put their No. 2 prospect, center Charlie Stramel, on the table, plus a likely future first-round pick and a possible third piece,” Mercogliano wrote on Saturday.

“The Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins are among the others who showed interest and had intriguing assets to dangle, but none were prepared to give up the necessary pieces to get Drury to say yes. The primary requirement was a forward with top-six potential who had either reached the NHL already or was on the verge.

“Rather than take whatever amounted to the best available offer, Drury is rolling the dice that he can do better at a later date.”

If Trocheck had been a pending unrestricted free agent, it would have been close to unacceptable to not move him before the deadline. But considering he still has term on his contract — and with the salary cap set to increase on July 1 — the bidding should increase for his services heading into next season.

That being said, Mercogliano believes that keeping Trocheck for the start of the 2026-27 season “feels like a non-starter if the Rangers are serious about rebuilding — excuse me, retooling — and getting younger.”

With Artemi Panarin already shipped to the Los Angeles Kings, and the Rangers dead last in the Eastern Conference, it seems more likely than not that Trocheck will be calling a different city home come October.

But for now, he remains in the Big Apple, and should continue to play a starring role over the team’s final 21 games of the 2025-26 regular season — as meaningless as they are.

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