Vincent Trocheck is expected to be back in the lineup tonight for the New York Rangers, and his return to the lineup gives the team a much need boost down the middle. Trocheck has appeared in just two games this season, and he left an eventual 4-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres on October 9th, a game in which he tallied an assist and logged 7:48 of ice time.
This is a pretty clear indication that Trocheck will play tonight. Cap wise, I'm pretty sure the #NYR have to make a move to make this work. My guess is that Rempe heads to LTIR, but trying to confirm. https://t.co/e2wCAZyv7G
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) November 10, 2025
Trocheck's return is great for Rangers depth
It will take Trocheck a bit of time to get back up to speed, but he's an important piece of the puzzle for the Rangers. He joined the organization back in 2022-23, and he put up 64 points in his inaugural season on Broadway. He followed that up with 77 points in 2023-24, and he tallied 26 goals and 59 points last season. Trocheck maintaining his level of goal scoring was a positive sign, and the drop in assists could be chocked up to the rest of the team finishing chances with less frequency than years prior.
In any case, Trocheck's return to the lineup will take some pressure off rookie Noah Laba, and that will allow him to return to being a really good bottom six contributor. In 16 games Laba has a 64.3 GF%, a 47.14 CF%, and a 55.7 xGF%, and that's a really impressive triple slash line. You'd imagine he's due for a bit of regression as the league becomes more familiar with his tendencies and overall game, but the expected demotion to the third line, and weaker competition, could stave that off in the interim.
What's next for Trocheck and the Rangers?
Trocheck is making his return against the Nashville Predators, a team that is really struggling, but the Blueshirts can't look past them, The Rangers' most recent game against the New York Islanders was supposed to be a "get right" game, but we all saw what happened there. Joining Trocheck in the lineup will be the recently recalled Gabe Perreault, and the hope is both forwards can add some scoring acumen, and overall depth to a forward group that has underwhelmed to start the 2025-26 NHL season.