The New York Rangers wasted little time trying to fill the void left by the players they lost in free agency.
A lot of talk surrounding the Rangers involved players like Andrew Copp (now of the Detroit Red Wings), Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano (both now of the Anaheim Ducks) leaving the Big Apple, but New York was sure to find at least one replacement at the second-line center position.
Forward Vincent Trocheck, who was a member of the Carolina Hurricanes last season, has agreed to a seven-year contract with the Rangers that will pay him $5.625 million annually.
I think adding Trocheck is a great move by the Rangers, and it is one that was necessary given the players listed above that left town. With that said, this move does not make the Blueshirts winners on day one of free agency.
Is Trocheck enough for the Rangers to repeat last year’s success?
The bottom line is that no matter how good Trocheck is/can be, he’s not going to make up for the three players that left. I have no doubt that the 29-year-old will be a solid asset for New York, but this team still has work to do this offseason.
The Rangers lost a couple of depth forwards as well on Wednesday, making their situation at forward even more troublesome. According to CapFriendly, New York currently has 10 forwards under contract with just over $5.5 million in cap space.
Still, Chris Drury and company did well to land Trocheck, who scored 51 points (21 goals and 30 assists) in 81 games with the Canes last season. The best year of his career came in 2017-2018 with the Florida Panthers when he tallied 31 goals and 44 assists for 75 points in 82 games.
In order to continue their upward trajectory, the Rangers will need him to do something similar to what he did that season while in Sunrise.
Can the Rangers still fill out the roster at a high level? Yes. As things currently stand, have they come out of Wednesday’s frenzy in a better spot than they were in before? No. Trocheck is a great start, but there must be more moves to follow.