The New York Rangers have a few more preseason games to get ready for the start of the 2025-26 NHL regular season, and Mike Sullivan has already made it known change is coming, specifically to the team's power play. The big news is that he envisions Alexis Lafrenière getting some run on the top man-advantage unit, and with the four other spots all but spoken for, there is one clear choice to be the odd-man out.
Vincent Trocheck is redundant on the top power-play unit
With Lafrenière in the fold, there are four other spots which will be filled by Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, and Artemi Panarin. The two point shots will be Fox and Panarin, Miller will be the man to take faceoffs and then go to the front of the net and bumper area, and Zibanejad will be in one circle to take a one-timer with Lafrenière on the opposite flank. In the event that Miller were thrown out of a faceoff, Zibanejad is capable to step in and take the draw if needed. Miller essentially is taking the spot that was once held by Chris Kreider of being a net-front presence and the guy who can score greasy goals. That's the job Trocheck was doing whenever Kreider was off the ice, so there's no need for him there now that Miller is a Ranger again.
The second unit needs a capable center and puck distributor
Although Zibanejad is playing wing to start the season, by talent and ability, he is one of the Rangers' top three centers along with Miller and Trocheck. There is no reason to load up the top unit with distributors, and Trocheck is the perfect guy to use on the secondary unit. In this role he can take faceoffs, he can play the net front if he wants, or he can be one of the distributors operating out of one of the circles while rotating down. Depending on how the roster is finalized, he could control a unit that also includes Will Cuylle. Will Borgen, Brett Berard, and maybe even Matt Rempe to screen the goalie! In all actuality, I would be surprised if the second unit has some players from the first unit stay on the ice to balance things out, but in any case Trocheck is still positioned as the best choice to run it.
Reduced role on power play will keep Trocheck fresher
While a demotion might seem like a bad thing for Trocheck, it may actually lead to him being a more effective player for the Blueshirts. Trocheck averaged 21:06 last season, and 21:27 the season before. He's been logging a lot of miles as a top-six center, a main penalty killer, and top option on the power play. He's coming off a down year in which he tallied 59 points after putting up 77 the year before, and it's possible that the minutes overload got to Trocheck.
It will be interesting to see how the Rangers go about deploying their star players on special teams, and it remains a possibility that Lafreniere and Trocheck could split some time between both units. I think Trocheck moving down is what's best for the Rangers, but ultimately that's a decision for Sullivan, and that frankly is for the best.