There were mixed reviews when the New York Rangers signed Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year, $39.75 million contract on July 13, 2022.
On the one hand, they were getting a player who cracked the 60-point once in his career. Not exactly a player that a team should shell out a bunch of cash to.
On the other hand, the Rangers were getting someone who could win key faceoffs, block shots, forecheck, backcheck, and play well in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Looking at it that way makes the money end of the deal a bit more palpable.
Fast forward to almost two seasons into the contract and the Rangers are coming up in spades. Trocheck, 30, is well on his way to outperforming the contract the Blueshirts gave him two summers ago.
For starters, Trocheck has been a solid offensive contributor. In his first season with the club, he had 64 points on 22 goals and 42 assists in 82 games.
Trocheck has been on a whole other level for the Rangers this season. Playing on a line with Artemi Panarian and Alexis Lafreniere, Trocheck is currently (As of Monday, March 25) second on the team in scoring with 69 points on 24 goals and 45 assists in 71 games.
Trocheck has been especially hot as of late. Here is what he has done over his last seven games:
- March 16th vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins: Two assists for two points.
- March 17th vs. the New York Islanders: Zero points.
- March 19th vs. the Winnipeg Jets: One assist for one point.
- March 21st vs. the Boston Bruins: One assist for one point.
- March 23rd vs. the Florida Panthers: Three assists for three points.
In total, he has 133 points in 153 games with the Rangers. With 11 games left in the regular season, that number should go up and show that through two regular seasons, Trocheck has been worth every penny so far.
He has also been extremely valuable when it comes to winning face-offs. Before Trocheck, face-offs were a sore subject for the Rangers. Simply put, they were not very good at them.
Last season, he won 56.1 percent of the draws he took and this season, he has won 59.2 percent of the face-offs he has taken.
Lastly, Trocheck has shown a knack for scoring big goals. He is currently tied for first on the team with Chris Kreider with five game-winning goals and last season, he had three game-winning goals.
There has been a lot to like about Trocheck’s play with the Rangers so far. Based on the way he played last season and what he has done so far this season, it is likely this his play with the club will continue to trend upwards.
