The Colorado Avalanche are a juggernaut of a hockey team that is a strong favorite to win the Stanley Cup, and at this point it feels inevitable that they will dispatch the Minnesota Wild. But anyone watching the series can look up and down the Minnesota bench and come to the conclusion that something is missing, and how their lack of going all in at the deadline after adding Quinn Hughes earlier in the season feels a bit foolish. Vincent Trocheck is a player the Wild were very interested in, but ultimately a deal wasn't finalized. Given the lineup Minnesota has been icing lately, feels like an opportunity was missed.
Minnesota's center depth just insn't good enough
Joel Eriksson Ek was injured in Game 6 against Dallas, and he's yet to play a game in the series against Colorado. It isn't something the team could have predicted, but that's why serious contenders bolster their rosters with depth. That's not what the Wild did, and as a result, they are undermanned and outgunned against Colorado. The depth chart currently has Ryan Hartman as the No. 1 center, Danila Yurov as the No. 2 center, Michael McCarron as the No. 3 center, and Nico Sturm manning the fourth line.
At full health, Erikson Ek is a great No. 1 center, and Trocheck would have been a great No. 2 who could have easily stepped up in this series. Trocheck is battle tested, a proven playoff performer, and has the all-around game that you need to win in the playoffs.
Hartman is miscast right now playing in the top six, and it's somewhere he doesn't belong. He had a career year in 2021-22 in which he scored 34 goals and tallied 65 points, but for most of his career he's been a 40-point guy. Trocheck averages 69 points a season, and is just a few years removed from a 77-point season. During his last playoff run with the Rangers he averaged 23:08 per game, and tallied 20 points in 16 games.
Missed opportunity could benefit Rangers
That type of production and experience would be great for the Wild, and if they do go down against Colorado, it will be interesting to see if General Manager Bill Guerin opens up dialogue with Chris Drury again.
Trocheck has two years left on his seven-year deal signed with the Rangers, and has a bargain of a cap hit at $5.625 million. The Wild were a team that Trocheck was willing to go to, but if the Rangers are unable to make a deal work, there are only 10 teams in which the veteran center can block a trade to. That gives the front office just a little more flexibility, it was 12 teams this past season, In any case, here's to hoping that the Wild really regret not being more aggressive, and a renewed level of interest could spur a bidding war to help the Rangers as they move forward post Letter 2.0.
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