Wild Stand Out As Top Candidate To Acquire Rangers' Center

The Minnesota Wild are gearing up to finally make an impact in the playoffs after acquiring Quinn Hughes and looking to do more. By do more, there is a high chance that a center is brought in. They feel they need an upgrade to be able to go toe-to-toe with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche and actually make a deep run.

The center depth is as follows: Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, Daniil Yurov, and Nico Sturm. Given the production and overall play, I only see one top-6 center, Eriksson Ek. But Bill Guerin (GM) and the Wild appear to have their sights set on someone from the East.

Chris Johnston said, "There's no mystery about him...Bill Guerin feels about Vincent Trocheck after selecting him to join Team USA. Trocheck is excellent in the faceoff dot, which holds appeal for Minnesota."

Trocheck does more than just that as a top-6 center. He has been a staple in the New York Rangers' top-6 with good players doing good work for years. In the three seasons he's been a Ranger prior to this season, he has finished top-20 in Selke Trophy voting twice, scored over 20 goals all three seasons, recorded at least 59 points, and finished with a faceoff percentage of at least 56%. He plays big minutes, on the power play, and penalty kill.

Trocheck being a complement for Eriksson Ek in the top-6 of the Wild should work very well if Minnesota can pull it off. The Wild would have to pay up to get Trocheck, who has three more years left on his deal after this season at a great cap hit of $5.625 million AAV. He has a 12-team no-trade list this season, it drops to a 10-team next season, and then a 6-team for the final two seasons. The Wild paid up for Hughes, so there's no use in going halfway if they have the assets to further upgrade themselves and go all in. For the time being, the future doesn't matter for the Wild, just the Stanley Cup window they opened.