The New York Rangers have signed free agent centre Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract. The average annual value of the contact is $5.65 million.
Hearing #NYR and Vincent Trocheck have agreed to terms on a 7-year deal.
Details forthcoming.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 13, 2022
Vincent Trocheck Signed Contract, Leaves Carolina
Over his nine-year NHL career, Trocheck played for both the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The Panthers drafted him back in 2011 with their third-round, 64th overall selection. He left Florida via trade back near the 2020 trade deadline. Florida dealt him in exchange for Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark, Chase Priskie, and Eetu Luostarinen. That marked the first time in his NHL career that Trocheck dressed for a team other than Florida.
In the years since he picked up 150 goals and 228 assists for 378 career points in 555 games. Last season specifically, Trocheck netted 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points in 81 games. He did so while also carrying a 59.1% Corsi, plus a relative Corsi of 4.7%. His advanced statistics show the exceptional strength of his two-way game, with positive relative Corsi percentages in every single season across his entire career.
With Carolina, Trocheck settled in nicely to a middle-six role. So far, he hasn’t managed to match his career-high 31-goal, 75-point season from 2017-18 in Florida. However, Trocheck plays an effective, hard-nosed style of game that makes him a fan favourite. In the shortened 2021-22 season, Trocheck played at nearly a point-per-game pace, picking up 43 points in 47 games. His pace fell back some this season, but 21 goals and 51 points in 81 games is nothing to snooze at.
What This Means for the Future
Thanks to his willingness to play aggressively at both ends of the ice, Trocheck carved out a solid NHL career. At 28, he still has plenty of good years ahead of him too. In Carolina, his prowess in the faceoff circle reached new highs, as he won 54.9% of his draws across three seasons as a ‘Cane.
It was no secret that Carolina wanted him back, too. They entered the offseason with just under $20 million in cap space to spend, so theoretically had space to negotiate. With plenty of others hitting free agency alongside Trocheck, though, inevitably the Hurricanes couldn’t keep everyone. Derek Stepan, Nino Niederreiter, Max Domi, Ian Cole, and Brendan Smith all saw their contracts expire this season as well. Plus, Steven Lorentz, Martin Necas, Anthony DeAngelo, and Ethan Bear remain restricted free agents in need of new contracts.
Trocheck certainly helps any NHL franchise with a centre that can hold down a third line perfectly and slide into the top six with ease. He plays the kind of game that teams need, and that makes him all the more effective. This becomes even more apparent come playoffs, where Trocheck potted ten points in 14 games this past postseason. That didn’t go unnoticed, and his paychecks going forward will thank him for stepping up in those important games.
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