{"id":503413,"date":"2026-03-04T15:25:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/503413\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T15:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:25:07","slug":"dont-overthink-it-yes-the-penguins-should-try-to-acquire-vince-trocheck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/503413\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t overthink it. Yes, the Penguins should try to acquire Vince Trocheck"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea of the Pittsburgh Penguins trading for New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck was a hot debate<\/a> on local sports talk radio<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see a reason for the debate. If the Pens can do that, they should.<\/p>\n

In his recent \u201c32 Thoughts\u201d podcast,<\/a> SportsNet insider Elliotte Friedman put the Penguins on the fringes of the derby to acquire the 32-year-old Upper St. Clair native. Utah, Detroit, Colorado, Minnesota and Los Angeles are all potential suitors. That said, Trocheck does have 12 teams on his no-trade list. Most of them are believed to be Western Conference teams<\/a>. So that may be a factor.<\/p>\n

This is absolutely a trade president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas should pursue. The Penguins are in a playoff position with just 22 games to go. Trocheck plays center. Sidney Crosby is hurt. So is Blake Lizotte.<\/p>\n

Trocheck is great at faceoffs (57.2%, 15th in the NHL). He\u2019s good in shootouts (41%). The Penguins need to start earning points in that regard.<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Hornets alum was top 20 in Selke Trophy voting last year. He had 20 points in 16 playoff games with the Rangers in 2024. He was also part of a Team USA penalty kill unit that didn\u2019t allow a goal throughout the entire Olympics en route to a gold medal last month in Italy.<\/p>\n

Again, where\u2019s the debate?<\/p>\n

Near as I can tell, here are the reasons for hesitation that I\u2019m getting from some Pittsburgh fans and media members.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trocheck is a 32-year-old veteran who costs $5.6 million against the cap: So what? That\u2019s not as big a number as it used to be, and it won\u2019t seem like very much at all by the time he enters his final year in 2028-29. Not to mention, he\u2019s durable, having missed just one regular-season game over the last four years.<\/p>\n

Right now, the Penguins\u2019 projected cap space (according to Puckpedia<\/a>) is $10.54 million, fourth most in the NHL. Next year, their projected cap space is $47.07 million, the third most in the league.<\/p>\n

Evgeni Malkin, Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes, Connor Dewar and Anthony Mantha are all unrestricted free agent forwards this summer. The Pens won\u2019t be resigning all of them. You can add defensemen Connor Clifton, Ryan Shea and goalie Stuart Skinner to that mix. That\u2019s a little bit more than $22 million coming off the books.<\/p>\n

Especially with Malkin\u2019s status uncertain after this year, having a center like Trocheck in the fold as a second\/third liner with Ben Kindel behind Crosby would be a positive acquisition beyond the end of this season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 When Crosby comes back, there will be too many centers: Too many centers? I don\u2019t even know what that means. When has a team ever had too many centers? That\u2019s like saying a baseball team has \u201ctoo many\u201d pitchers.<\/p>\n

Presumably, if acquired, Trocheck would start his Penguins career on a line with Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. If Crosby comes back healthy in time for the playoffs, he\u2019ll go back between those two. Tommy Novak can keep centering a line with Malkin and Egor Chinakhov.<\/p>\n

Then, Trocheck can slide between Mantha and Justin Brazeau and have Kindel center the fourth line with some combination of Acciari, Kevin Hayes, Avery Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Dewar or whoever else you want.<\/p>\n

Leave Kindel with Brazeau and Mantha if you want, and have Trocheck center the fourth line. It\u2019s not forever. It\u2019s for 20 games and the playoffs. Wasn\u2019t Matt Cullen important as a fourth-line center in 2016-17?<\/p>\n

And if Novak gets injured or fades, Trocheck can hop up to the second line, and Malkin can stay on the wing where he has thrived.<\/p>\n

In the playoffs, you are usually one injury away from \u201ctoo many centers\u201d turning into \u201cnot enough centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Rangers are going to ask for too much in return: Maybe. Here was a suggested package that the Penguins would have to give up to get Trocheck.<\/p>\n

Rumor: This is a projected Penguins-Rangers trade for Pittsburgh’s own Vincent Trocheck that’s making the rounds:<\/p>\n

Penguins trade<\/p>\n

2026 1st round pick
2027 2nd round pick
Rutger McGroarty
Prospect Bill Zonnon<\/p>\n

for <\/p>\n

Vincent Trocheck<\/p>\n

I would do that. Would you? pic.twitter.com\/LB9g4P86Bf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) March 3, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n

For a team like the Rangers, which has already let the world know it is in full-sell mode (presumably with no salary retention), Trocheck shouldn\u2019t cost that much.<\/p>\n

From the prospect pool, I\u2019d avoid giving up Seregi Murashov, Harrison Brunicke or Will Horcoff. However, if the eventual package includes some loose combination of a first rounder, and\/or a second rounder and a prospect such as Rutger McGroarty, Bill Zonnon, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering or Tristan Broz, I\u2019m not going to cry over that.<\/p>\n

All of these picks and prospects acquired by Dubas weren\u2019t collected with the intent of every single one making the NHL with the Pens and staying here their whole careers. Some of them were acquired with the intent of moving them in trades like this one.<\/p>\n

The Pens are trying to live in two worlds at once \u2014 build for the future while pushing for the playoffs with Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang still in Pittsburgh. The second half of that equation can\u2019t be aided with future picks and guys in Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, the Pens drafted 13 guys last year. They have 16 picks over the first three rounds of the next three drafts. And we\u2019re worrying about too many centers for six weeks? All those prospects are going to log-jam each other if they are all used. Some of them have to be moved.<\/p>\n

Not every young player that gets traded haunts you like Markus Naslund. Sometimes they are Angelo Esposito, Noah Welch or Kasperi Kapanen (the first time around). We talk about them a ton as prospects, then they get traded, and it works out for the Penguins.<\/p>\n

Trocheck\u2019s two-way play, faceoff skills and PK acumen will age well. I\u2019ll take that known commodity through 2028-29 over a couple of pick\/prospect \u201cwhat if\u201d scenarios.<\/p>\n

Again: Cullen, Matt.<\/p>\n

If the likes of Minnesota, Detroit and Colorado outbid the Penguins\u2019 best offer and the Rangers are reluctant to trade Trocheck within the division, so be it.<\/p>\n

But I still want Dubas to actually make his best offer.<\/p>\n

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer talk Penguins in this week\u2019s hockey podcast<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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