Vincent Trocheck always was an honest straight shooter during his four-year tenure with the New York Rangers. He remains that way even after the Rangers traded him to the Utah Mammoth this summer.
That trade was the latest in a flurry of moves made by general manager Chris Drury in a two-year span after the Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers in six games of the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. That, you may remember, followed the best regular season in franchise history, one that spans 100 years. Not only did the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy for having the League’s best regular-season record in 2023-24, but they established franchise marks for most wins (55) and points (114) in a season.
And then Drury went to work tearing apart that roster, one largely constructed by his predecessor Jeff Gorton. Many of his moves were made to free up salary-cap space. Others didn’t make quite as much sense.
The Rangers missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons, and tumbled into last place in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26.
“The last two years were obviously really tough. Not what we expected,” Trocheck said this week on the Morning Cuppa’ Hockey podcast. “I think the whole team kind of got uprooted the last two years from the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy in ’24. That’s never something you’re expecting, when you go from winning a Presidents’ Trophy to the Eastern Conference Final, to two years later having I think it’s like four guys remaining on the roster.”
For the record, six players remain with the Rangers from their Game 6 lineup against the Panthers in 2024. They are goalie Igor Shesterkin, defensemen Adam Fox and Braden Schneider, and forwards Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere, and Will Cuylle. Forward Matt Rempe was a healthy scratch that day, and remains on the current roster.
Trocheck led the Rangers, and finished ninth in the League, with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) over 16 games in the 2024 postseason. Two years later, and with three seasons remaining on his contract, Trocheck joins the long list of those dealt away by Drury.
“It was such a rollercoaster,” Trocheck said of his Rangers tenure. “I think playing in a big market like New York is definitely not for everyone. It does take a lot of pressure and stress to deal with how much is expected from you. I think, for me, it was something I embraced and enjoyed to the fullest every year, even when we having a rough year.”
Vincent Trocheck made sure to enjoy ‘last run’ with the Rangers before trade to Utah
Brad Penner-USA TODAY SportsCredit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
Trocheck knew he was a goner once Drury sent a letter to Rangers fans in January sharing his plan to retool, making sure to mention that some favorites likely were on the way out. The Rangers traded Artemi Panarin, then a pending unrestricted free agent, to the Los Angeles Kings in February. That made Trocheck the next most likely to be traded, considering his limited no-movement protection and manageable $5.625 million salary-cap hit.
Drury didn’t receive the offer he sought ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, so the Rangers held on to Trocheck. But the 33-year-old center knew he wouldn’t be back in 2026-27.
“The whole trade rumors, they happen, I’ve been part of them before,” Trocheck shared. “It was a little stressful, but once the trade deadline was over and I knew I wasn’t getting moved — at least until the end of the year — it was able to be comfortable again and just enjoy the time that I had in New York, and just kind of treat it like it was my last run, my last few months there in New York.”
So, Trocheck is off to Salt Lake City, joining a very “family-friendly” Mammoth organization, one that’s on the rise in his opinion. But Trocheck knows he’ll miss New York.
“[Our children] grew up in New York. It’s definitely a home for us,” he said. “It’s always going to hold a special place in our hearts. Very blessed to have had the opportunity to play there.”
Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of … More about Jim Cerny
