Last year, the New York Rangers signed Vincent Trocheck to a massive seven-year contract. He had a solid first season with the Blueshirts, amassing 64 points across a full 82 games played. It was an overall positive performance, but it seemed that Trocheck was not living up to the hype of his long-term expensive deal. This season, however, Trocheck is earning every penny in what could turn out to be the best season of his career.
Trocheck is on pace for the most points in his career this season
Throughout the Rangers’ first 30 games of the year, Trocheck has totaled eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points. This has him currently tied with Mika Zibanejad for the second-most points on the Rangers, trailing behind only superstar winger and lineman Artemi Panarin.
Per EliteProspects, Trocheck is on pace to finish the season with 77 total points if he plays the full 82 games. This would be the highest point total of his decade-long career, just narrowly topping his 2017-18 total of 75. His success has helped the Rangers’ second Lind flourish, as Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere are both having career years as well.
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The Rangers need to make Trocheck the full-time 2C
When Trocheck was first signed, the Blueshirts planned for him to be the replacement for Ryan Strome as the second-line center. But after a solid first year in New York, the Rangers opted to begin this season with Trocheck in the bottom six in order to give Filip Chytil a shot on the second line. Now, with Chytil out with a long-term injury, he’s managed to find his way back into the top six.
When Chytil returns from his injury, it’s imperative that the Rangers keep Trocheck as the 2C. Chytil didn’t disappoint by any means, but the level of offensive success that Trocheck is generating can not be outmatched. He’s having the best season of his career, and demoting him back to the third line would only throw away the chemistry that the new second line has built over the course of this season.
