The New York Rangers have the largest fanbase among the 24 American hockey markets, which means that players will sometimes draw criticism just because they are Rangers. That's part of making money in an entertainment industry, which hockey is supposed to be. The Rangers rarely have a player underperforming go under the radar, but that might be the case with a Rangers' center core member. We've talked about Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, but Vincent Trocheck hasn't been near the standards he has set for himself in the iconic Blueshirt.
It would be hard to argue that a guy with 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 71 games is having a bad year, but this isn't the Vincent Trocheck we've come to love in New York. He set a career-high in points last year with 77 and had 64 in his first year here. He's on pace for 56, which is way below what we've come to expect from this Pittsburgh native.
However, points do not tell the whole story. Trocheck is typically a responsible centerman for the Rangers, but that hasn't happened this year. According to NaturalStatTrick, the Rangers centerman has an expected goals against per 60 of 2.91. That's the second-highest total of his career and the highest since 2017-18 with the Panthers. He's not making up for the downturn in production defensively, and now the Rangers have to look for a solution.
I'm not saying the solution is moving him; he's on a fair contract with a reasonable cap hit and has an entire no-movement clause. Trocheck won't be an option to move, but the Rangers need to find a way to get more out of him. He is a very close friend of J.T. Miller, so perhaps an entire season together next year gets more out of Trocheck, but he's not been up to the standard this season.