The clock is ticking for the New York Rangers and General Manager Chris Drury to bring in assets and prospects before the 3:00 p.m. ET deadline. Vincent Trocheck is the big domino that has yet to fall. Trocheck is viewed by many NHL insiders and experts as the top player on the trade market due in part to center being a position of need, his contract status, and his ability to win face-offs and kill penalties.
On Thursday, The Athletic reported that the Minnesota Wild, a team heavily favored to land Trocheck, felt their hopes "fading" due to the Rangers' high asking price. With the Wild seemingly out on Trocheck, Rangers fans were wondering where he might end up.
On Friday morning, Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Rangers have indicated to teams that they are willing to hold onto Trocheck for the remainder of the season if they don't get an offer they deem sufficient enough.
Good morning.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 6, 2026
NYR have indicated they are prepared to keep Vincent Trocheck if they don't get what they feel they need. Told teams, they are not trading him just for the sake of making a trade.
Deadlines spur action...we will see what the day brings.
Chris Drury tells teams he's willing to hold onto Vincent Trocheck past trade deadline
The pressure has been on Drury to show he can help build a better Rangers team in the future. This retool gave him the opportunity to do so, and thus far, it has seen mixed results.
Drury traded defeseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick. Then, he dealt Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings for prospect Liam Greentree, a conditional third-round pick in 2026, and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2028. The Panarin trade Drury didn't have much control over due to the star's full no-trade clause. While Greentree has been on fire in the CHL with the Windsor Spitfires this year, he still has areas of his game that need improvement, and the Rangers need to ensure they develop him properly. Finally, they traded forward Sam Carrick to the Buffalo Sabres in return for a third-rounder and sixth-rounder in 2026.
Trocheck's value has never been higher, and likely won't reach this level again. While he's not having the most productive season with the Rangers, he increased his value in the Olympics for Team USA, as he was part of a penalty kill unit that went 18-for-18, which helped them win the gold medal for the first time since 1980.
Trocheck does carry a 12-team no-trade clause, and has let it be known that he will only accept a trade to East Coast teams. With the Wild seemingly out of the running for Trocheck, the other teams linked to Trocheck are the Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes. With the lack of real movement on top centers, it will be interesting to see if there will be some sort of bidding war in the final hours before the trade deadline.
It's hard to truly fault Drury for wanting the most value imaginable for Trocheck, given the Rangers' desperate need for a youth movement. But this is also the worst-case scenario for the team, as if teams call their bluff, they will now have to wait until the offseason to explore a trade. A market that was seemingly strong heading into this week could very well amount to nothing.