On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman said that the Rangers have “a lot out there. They certainly have things that they are not willing to do, but I don’t think there is a lot of it and other than that I think they are willing to listen on most ideas. Trocheck is the big one, nothing he did at the Olympic has decreased his value, he accepted a role and didn’t complain and in the biggest moments of that Gold Medal game on a 5-on-3 he played unbelievable. Again, he accepted a role that was not going to be the biggest role and he didn’t complain and that did not go unnoticed. Everybody has tied Minnesota to him and that one is obvious, I think LA really likes him, as I said before with Trocheck, he’s stated that his preference is East, that is not a hard and fast rule but he’s stated his preferences.”
He added, “I know there are teams who suspect Colorado, I just don’t know that after what they did last year to get Brock Nelson that Colorado has a lot it can do….I heard some teams suspected Pittsburgh could be around Trocheck, he’s from there and would be a great roster fit there, but I don’t know that the Penguins, with where they are, are going to be making the trade it would take to get him. I don’t know if they see it working with what their plans are and where they are going and what stage they are in. The other team I’ve always kept an eye on is Detroit because they tried so hard to get him when he was a UFA a few years ago and Yzerman likes term.”
On Adam Fox saying that he was just focusing on this year right now when asked about his future, Friedman said “what that says to me is an end of season conversation. This is a guy who moved heaven and earth as was his right under CBA rules to become a Ranger. To me it’s all about everyone take a timeout and see how we feel at the end of the season but it’s another thing to keep an eye on with the Rangers.”
The Athletic says that Chris Drury’s preference in a Braden Schneider trade is to acquire young players who are ready to contribute, as opposed to future assets, and that the Rangers will hold onto him if that price isn’t meant.
Adam Rotter: The expectation is that Trocheck is going to get traded within the next week and that he is likely to command some version of what Colorado traded for Brock Nelson last year which was a first and a former first. Nelson was older and a pending UFA when he was traded and so the thought is that the Rangers should be able to get more for a player in Trocheck that is under contract and that you will get multiple playoff runs with. Does that equate to another B+/A- piece or two “B” pieces, we’ll see. What I don’t expect is for anyone to trade a young, contributing player off their roster to get him. Teams are bringing in Trocheck to add to what they have, not subtract, that is why, unless it’s a young player who is in and out of the lineup, the Rangers are going to get guys who aren’t yet in or consistently in the NHL. Teams aren’t looking to fill one hole and then create another by moving a regular lineup player at the trade deadline.
The other issue is that most of the teams looking to get Trocheck are the top teams and those teams generally don’t have as many big assets to trade and there is also the aspect of Trocheck having some level of control over the process. If some team is willing to offer the Rangers a crazy package but Trocheck doesn’t want to go there then it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have as much control as Artemi Panarin did in his situation, but if five teams want him but he’s only willing to go to two of them, then Chris Drury has to make the best deal with one of those two teams are hold onto him and try again at the draft.