When the New York Rangers went out and signed forward Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract worth $5.625 million per year back in the summer of 2022, many fans and pundits alike wondered if the team was giving him too much money.
It is safe to say that two years into the deal, Trocheck, 30, has played like he is worth more than what the team is paying him. Sure, he may not have the offensive flair like Artemi Panarin or the marquee name, but what he has come in and done for the Rangers two years into his deal has been remarkable.
For starters, he has shown that he can put up points. Last season, he was fourth on the team in scoring with 64 points on 22 goals and 42 assists, with that point total being the second-highest of his career.
Trocheck is off to another great start this season. He started off on the team’s third line as Filip Chytil began the season on the second line with Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, and because of that, he got off to a bit of a slow start.
That all changed when Chytil went down with an injury. When that happened, Trocheck moved up to the team’s second line and ever since then, he has been on fire as he is currently fourth on the team in scoring with 10 points on four goals and six assists in 13 games.
Secondly, Trocheck has been great at winning faceoffs, an area that the Rangers struggled with for a very long time. Last season, he won 56.1 percent (a career-high) of the faceoffs he took, and he has already won about 63 percent (62.9 percent) of the faceoffs he has taken this year.
This is more than a welcoming sight for the Rangers. Year in and year out, they struggled to win faceoffs in all areas of the ice, but since having Trocheck, they have improved in a big way.
He has also shown that he can come up big when needed. Last season, Trocheck had three game-winning goals, and he already has one this season.
When the game is on the line, Trocheck seems to know where to be and what to do. He will win a faceoff, go hard to the net, put himself in a good position to tap home a rebound or deflect a shot, or he will find a way to set up a linemate for the big goal.
Lastly, Trocheck is not afraid to shoot the puck, which is great because he has a very underrated shot. He fired 225 shots on goal last season and currently has 22 this season.
There have been many free-agent signings that have not worked out well for the Blueshirts, but it is safe to say that the Trocheck signing has been a great one so far.
