Hurricanes Could Be Likeliest Landing Spot For Rangers' Forward

The New York Rangers have completely fallen out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference and are 14 points back of the second wildcard spot. They're not just thinking of retooling and making trades, it's going to happen as a statement was already put out by the GM.

There are going to be some significant changes and a few of the veterans are likely to be shipped off, either as rentals or for more assets as they have some term left. Vincent Trocheck is one of those players who will bring in a nice return for the Rangers.

He is a strong top-6 player who plays hard, has a very good contract, term, and is a top-6 center. The 32-year-old is under contract for three more years at $5.625 million AAV and the Rangers only have a 12-team no-trade list to deal with. For a player that should be very sought after on the trade market, the price will be high and there is at least one standout destination for him.

David Pagnotta said, "The Hurricanes will likely inquire on Vincent Trocheck ahead of the deadline." The Carolina Hurricanes are a team that has $18 million in cap space to work with, are looking to move Jesperi Kotkaniemi to even free up more as part of a deal, and are really looking for a legitimate top-6 center despite Logan Stankoven doing a solid job this season.

Trocheck's last team he played for was the Hurricanes and he left in 2022. He elevated his game even higher once coming to the Rangers, but the Hurricanes are in a place to re-acquire him and the Rangers are in a place to move him to change things up. The same guard hasn't worked for them this season or last, and players like Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and Vladislav Gavrikov aren't leaving, so some others have to.

The Hurricanes are the top team in the East and have to do something to get over the hump in the playoffs and at least get back to the Stanley Cup Final to get a chance at a Cup under this new group of players. The same deep playoff matchups may not make it this time, so the East is wide open for the Hurricanes to take.