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Vincent Trocheck

Rangers’ Matt Rempe Out Long-Term, Vincent Trocheck Nearing Return

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New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe is going to be out “longer-term” after sustaining an upper-body injury in a fight with San Jose Sharks’ winger Ryan Reaves, head coach Mike Sullivan told Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic. Mercogliano later specified that Rempe’s injury isn’t expected to be season-ending, but could span multiple weeks, if not a few months.

Rempe was filling slightly larger shoes than last season through New York’s first nine games. He notched one goal and seven penalty minutes, while averaging a career-high 9:48 in ice time each game. He also recorded 30 hits – putting him on pace to register over 220 hits across a full 82 games.

New York awarded top prospect Brennan Othmann with his season debut in Rempe’s absence. He recorded no points and a minus-one in the outing, and now could be headed for a healthy scratch in favor of Jonny Brodzinski, per Mercogliano. Brodzinski has already played in two games this season, with no scoring and one shot on net.

The Rangers shouldn’t have to spar between depth wingers for too much longer. Top-six centerman Vincent Trocheck returned to skating on Monday, marking a big step in his return from an upper-body injury sustained on October 9th. Trocheck was placed on long-term injured reserve on October 11th, and won’t be eligible to be activated until November 1st. The injury ended an ironman streak that spanned the last three seasons (and all but one game of 2021-22). Trocheck spent all three years of that streak with New York, racking up 200 points in 246 games over the stretch. That’s the fourth-most of any Ranger since 2022. He even managed a career-year in that mix, posting a career-best 77 points in the 2023-24 season.

Trocheck should return to his second-line center role as soon as he’s back from injury. He began the year between wingers Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, though New York has since broken up that duo in favor of icing Panarin with captain J.T. Miller. No matter who he’s centering, Trocheck should find a quick path back to high-impact minutes within the coming weeks.

Metro Notes: Hurricanes, Rempe, Trocheck

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The Carolina Hurricanes issued several injury updates yesterday, via team reporter Walt Ruff. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that injured defenseman K’Andre Miller is considered “more day-to-day” than out long-term, while injured forwards Eric Robinson and William Carrier “won’t be coming back anytime soon.” Miller and Carrier are managing lower-body injuries, while Robinson is dealing with an upper-body ailment. Miller last played Oct. 20 against the Vegas Golden Knights, while both Carrier and Robinson last played Oct. 23.

The Hurricanes have gotten off to an exceptional start to their 2025-26 campaign, but these injuries threaten their significant positive momentum. Carolina dropped yesterday’s contest against the Stars by a 3-2 score. The loss of the aforementioned trio of players, combined with other injuries to Shayne Gostisbehere, Jaccob Slavin, and Pyotr Kochetkov, has tested Carolina’s depth to an extreme degree very early into this season. As a result of these absences, the Hurricanes have been forced to rely on players with little NHL experience to fill roles in their lineup: call-ups Joel Nystrom, Bradly Nadeau, and Charles-Alexis Legault had just three games of NHL experience combined before the start of 2025-26.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Injured New York Rangers pivot Vincent Trocheck isn’t a candidate to return any time soon, head coach Mike Sullivan told the media (including the New York Post’s Mollie Walker) yesterday. Trocheck remains on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) with an upper-body injury, isn’t skating yet, and Sullivan directly said his return to play “isn’t imminent.” The Rangers have shifted veteran Mika Zibanejad back to his natural center position in response to Trocheck’s absence, and Zibanejad has started to heat up, scoring two goals and four points in his last three games. For the Rangers to make a serious push to gain ground in the Metropolitan Division early this season, Zibanejad, 32, will need to continue to produce and prove that he can handle some of the responsibilities left behind by Trocheck.
  • Physical forward Matt Rempe will not travel to his hometown of Calgary for the Rangers’ upcoming game as he is still being evaluated for an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. Rempe appeared to suffer the injury in the process or aftermath of fighting Ryan Reaves during the Rangers’ Oct. 23 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The 6’9″, 261-pounder had played a steady fourth-line role in all of the Rangers’ nine games so far this season, and in response to his injury, the club called up 2021 first-rounder Brennan Othmann, who himself has been the subject of recent trade buzz.

East Notes: Rangers, Mikkola, Malenstyn

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Earlier today, Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan told Mollie Walker of the New York Post that Vincent Trocheck is still not skating. Although they sit in the middle of the pack at .500, it has not been the smoothest of starts for New York, in a year where the group faces real pressure to turn the corner from a turbulent 2024-25. 

Trocheck appeared in the Rangers’ first two games before being injured vs Buffalo. Earlier it had been announced that the forward is week-to-week. Despite now being 32, Trocheck has been very reliable, being an 82-game player in his first three seasons in New York. Now the team hopes to have their vital center back soon. 

More injury news has come out of New York, as Colin Stephenson of Newsday confirmed that Noah Laba left tonight’s game vs Minnesota after taking a puck to the face. The rookie forward was helped off the ice, however, Stephenson went on to update that Laba has returned to the game. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • David Dwork of The Hockey News noted earlier today that Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola has returned to practice. Mikkola left Saturday’s game in Buffalo with an upper-body injury. The wear-and-tear of back to back Stanley Cups is certainly a possibility this year, for a Panthers group which has lost four straight games, already sorely missing Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. Thankfully Mikkola appears ready to help the team get back on track.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced today that forward Beck Malenstyn will be absent for the next few days due to a personal matter. The team did not elaborate, however, Head Coach Lindy Ruff’s comments suggest it is likely due to paternity leave. 26-year-old Josh Dunne, an organizational depth forward, has drawn into the Sabres lineup in place of Malenstyn. 

Rangers Recall Scott Morrow

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The Rangers announced they’ve recalled defenseman Scott Morrow from AHL Hartford. The team is placing center Vincent Trocheck on long-term injured reserve to make room for him on the active roster, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reports. He was labeled week-to-week with an upper-body issue over the weekend.

Morrow’s recall comes amid mounting injury concerns for New York’s blue line. They’re already down lefty Carson Soucy, who’s on injured reserve after sustaining an apparent head injury last Saturday. Connor Mackey was the corresponding recall for that move, and he’s sat in the press box for two straight while Matthew Robertson drew into Soucy’s spot on the second pair alongside William Borgen. Now, Borgen isn’t practicing today because of a lower-body injury, according to the AP’s Stephen Whyno, putting his status in doubt for tomorrow’s road contest in Toronto.

Now, Morrow comes up to make sure the Blueshirts have seven healthy defensemen on the roster in case Borgen can’t play. If he can’t, it’ll presumably be Morrow drawing in to replace him, not Mackey, to keep their lefty-righty balance intact. Morrow, who turns 23 next month, has 16 games of NHL experience, all coming with the Hurricanes in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The 2021 second-round pick had a goal and five assists for six points with a +1 rating in his first taste of big-league hockey for Carolina before they sent him to New York this past offseason in the K’Andre Miller sign-and-trade.

Morrow checks in as the Rangers’ most offensively dynamic prospect on the blue line. It’s his defensive acumen that needs to improve for him to secure an everyday spot, something he was close to doing in training camp this year before serving as one of their final cuts. In his first full-time pro year in 2024-25, he made 52 appearances for the Canes’ AHL club and had a 13-26–39 scoring line, earning a spot on the league’s Top Prospects Team and making a trip to the All-Star Game.

He did not record a point in his first outing of the season for Hartford last weekend. It’ll be a quick trip to Connecticut, at least for now, as he comes back up to serve as a No. 6/7 option for the next couple of days, at least. He’s waiver-exempt, which actually works to his advantage for staying on the roster now that the season has begun. If Mackey stays up for 30 days or plays 10 games after his recall, he’ll need to clear waivers again to return to Hartford.

As for Trocheck, his LTIR placement is backdated to Oct. 9. He’s already missed three games and six days required out of the 10-game, 24-day minimums. He will be eligible to return on Nov. 4 against the Hurricanes, ruling him out for the next eight games.

The Rangers’ injury woes on defense have prevented them from making a proper recall to replace Trocheck at forward. They started the year with 14 forwards and seven defenders, but are now rolling 13 and eight. That leaves prospects like Brett Berard and Gabriel Perreault, each of whom might have gotten a top-six shot with Trocheck out, still in the minors for now.

Vincent Trocheck Out Week-To-Week

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The Rangers will be without a key player for at least the next little while.  Mollie Walker of the New York Post relays (Twitter link) that center Vincent Trocheck is listed as out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

The injury occurred during the second period of Thursday’s victory over Buffalo after a penalty killing shift with the team announcing soon after that he wouldn’t be returning to the game.

The 32-year-old has been a key cog down the middle for New York for several years now as a true two-way, all-situations player.  Trocheck had his best offensive showing back in 2023-24 when he had 77 points in 82 games.  While that output ticked down to 59 points last season, he managed to lead the NHL in shorthanded goals with six.  He started the season anchoring the top line with the expectations that he’d once again be one of their top offensive performers.

In Trocheck’s absence, Mika Zibanejad’s move to the wing will be short-lived as he lined up in Trocheck’s center spot on the top line at practice today, per Newsday’s Colin Stephenson (Twitter link).  Meanwhile, Juuso Parssinen appears to be set to make his season debut with a lineup spot opened up due to Trocheck’s injury.

How the Rangers try to replace Trocheck on the roster is intriguing.  The team can place him on regular injured reserve, opening up a roster spot.  However, they only have $842K in cap space at the moment, per PuckPedia, which isn’t enough to recall any of Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann, or Gabriel Perreault, the players they likely would want to give a chance to.

As long as Trocheck is set to miss 10 games and 24 days, he becomes eligible for LTIR which would allow them to then bring up one of those three players.  However, they’d then stop accruing cap space, further cutting into their already limited flexibility on that front.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to opt not to bring anyone up to take his spot in the short term.  That would give Parssinen (or Jonny Brodzinski, who’s also on the roster) a chance to make a mark while allowing them to bank enough regular space to recall a prospect over the next few weeks, keeping them out of LTIR altogether.  Either way, they’ll be navigating through a significant loss in Trocheck for at least a few weeks.

Mika Zibanejad Embraces Move To Wing

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For a team in transition — including a new head coach in Mike Sullivan and the trade of longtime fan-favorite Chris Kreider — the New York Rangers are also looking to determine what position former 90-point forward Mika Zibanejad will play this upcoming season.

NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Zibanejad will likely start training camp as a right wing alongside center J.T. Miller. As Rosen outlines, Zibanejad and Sullivan met in the player’s native Sweden, where Zibanejad expressed both his developing chemistry with Miller and his desire to continue playing alongside him.

“As part of that conversation, one of the things he expressed to me is even though he lined up on the wing on the face-offs, he felt they were interchangeable in the sense that they could read off each other,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan added that both players are comfortable handling faceoffs regardless of their position on the ice and playing down low in the defensive zone. To that point, Zibanejad won faceoffs last season at a 52 percent clip, one of the highest marks of his career. However, that percentage pales in comparison to Miller’s 54.3 percent career win rate, which included a 57.6 percent mark last year. Both players have also established themselves as effective penalty killers with the ability to score shorthanded goals.

And while Sullivan acknowledged a desire for Zibanejad and Miller to continue building on their pre-existing chemistry, he also noted that each centering their own line, along with Vincent Trocheck, could create a solid foundation for the top three lines.

“Those are three pretty high-quality centermen,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s going to play itself out, but certainly the conversations I’ve had with Mika to this point I would envision us exploring keeping Mika with J.T.”

Zibanejad played in all 82 games last season, recording his fifth consecutive 20-goal campaign. However, his 62 points were his lowest total since the injury-shortened 2020-21 season. The 32-year-old also produced a -22 rating (the second lowest of his career), and his average ice time of 18:46 per game was his lowest since the 2017-18 season.

Zibanejad has spent nine seasons in the Big Apple and currently ranks eighth all-time in franchise history in goals (250) and points (589). He’s also tied for sixth in franchise history with 11 shorthanded goals and tied for second with seven hat tricks.

However, the forward isn’t just a franchise fixture. He continues to produce and is only two seasons removed from a 39-goal, 91-point campaign. A return to that form, whether at center or on the wing, would go a long way toward the franchise’s goal of returning to contention.

East Injury Notes: Tkachuk, Trocheck, Copp

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Earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that captain Brady Tkachuk would likely sit out of the Ottawa Senators’ first game back from the 4 Nations Face-Off due to a minor injury. Tkachuk’s recovery timeline is only considered day-to-day but his absence from tonight’s game was later confirmed when the Senators shared their lineups.

Any of the multi-million viewers of the 4 Nations Face-Off likely could have predicted this outcome. Tkachuk was one of the most noticeable players on Team USA scoring big goals and delivering even bigger hits. He did have some mild injury concerns due to colliding with the net during the game against Sweden but he never missed a game.

Due to his rough-and-tumble style of play and the playoff atmosphere throughout the tournament, it’s understandable that Tkachuk could use additional rest. Thankfully, although his absence is felt tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa has a three-day break until their next game giving their captain plenty of time to rest and recuperate.

Other injury notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • According to Arthur Staple of The Athletic, New York Rangers’ center Vincent Trocheck suffered a broken finger during the United States’ penultimate game against Sweden. Although he did not practice with the team yesterday, Trocheck miraculously suited up for the Rangers this evening. Unfortunately, the matchup didn’t turn out how he and New York would have hoped as Trocheck managed a -2 rating in 18:04 of ice time in an 8-2 blowout loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
  • Before the Detroit Red Wings let a third-period two-goal lead collapse to the Minnesota Wild this afternoon, they lost one of their forwards to an apparent injury. After Alex DeBrincat landed a massive hit on Wild defenseman Brock Faber, center Andrew Copp joined the ensuing scrum. The altercation didn’t last long for Copp as he immediately fell to the ice and grabbed at his left shoulder. Copp finished the game with one assist in 10:20 of action.

Rangers Rumors: Zibanejad, Trocheck, Jones

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In the written edition of his “32 Thoughts” blog Tuesday night, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet expanded on a report yesterday from Josh Yohe of The Athletic that the Canucks turned down a one-for-one trade proposal from the Rangers that would have seen the clubs swap struggling top-six fixtures J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad.

Friedman “believe[s] he’s correct — with some semantics.” Those Miller-for-Zibanejad rumors, which started when the former took a brief leave of absence from Vancouver for personal reasons, were vehemently shut down by New York. At the same time, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford quickly said that his team wasn’t interested in trading Miller, at least not while he was still on leave.

Fast forward to today, and all indications point to Miller and star pivot Elias Pettersson at least entering trade conversations amid speculative reports of a locker-room clash between the pair. But, as Friedman wrote, the Rangers didn’t quite come as close to landing their desired swap as it may have seemed at first glance.

Friedman doesn’t believe that Zibanejad, who has a no-move clause, “was ever approached” by Rangers management about accepting a move to Vancouver. There were likely other moving parts in the framework of the deal being discussed, namely up-and-coming Blueshirts defender Braden Schneider, that New York wasn’t willing to move to make happen. Friedman adds this is the second time the Rangers have rejected an attempt from the Canucks to acquire Schneider, now in his fourth NHL season after being selected 19th overall in 2020.

There’s more from Friedman on the Rangers’ trade plans leading up to the deadline:

  • Should they enter an aggressive sell-off mode, New York’s highest-value trade asset would be center Vincent Trocheck. He’s having a more productive season offensively than Zibanejad, albeit slightly, with a still-disappointing 27 points in 40 games. Like Zibanejad, he carries a no-movement clause but costs a far more affordable $5.625MM against the cap through 2029 than Zibanejad’s $8.5MM cap hit through 2030. Nonetheless, Rangers general manager Chris Drury won’t entertain the idea of trading him, Friedman reports, going so far as to suggest he could be Jacob Trouba’s successor to the captaincy after the latter was traded to the Ducks last month.
  • One player definitely on the block for the Rangers is defenseman Zac Jones, who Friedman reports the Rangers have permitted to speak to other teams about a longer-term fit. The pending restricted free agent was expected to land a more prominent role this season with Erik Gustafsson out the door in free agency, but he’s still been a healthy scratch for a good portion of the campaign – suiting up in 26 of the Blueshirts’ 40 games. Jones, 24, has a goal and seven assists for eight points with a plus-two rating, ranking second among Rangers defenders behind Schneider’s plus-six. He’s averaging a career-high 16:42 per game when dressed, seeing expanded power-play usage but posting mediocre possession numbers.

Injury Notes: Liljegren, Chytil, Senators

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have tweeted that defenseman Timothy Liljegren has left tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins and won’t be returning. It is the second time in less than a week that the 24-year-old has had to leave a game with an injury as he was forced to exit a game last week against the Nashville Predators with what was described as an upper body injury.

Liljegren’s injury tonight is being called a lower body injury, but it appears likely it is something in his foot or ankle. The injury happened in the dying moments of the first period as Liljegren and forward Brad Marchand of the Bruins were skating towards the corner and engaging in a puck battle. Marchand appears to give Liljegren the can opener before the Maple Leafs defenseman goes awkwardly into the boards. The move from Marchand was essentially a trip as he appeared to put his stick between Liljegren’s legs and force him to the ice. Liljegren’s skates then smashed into the end boards, likely causing his injury.

In other injury notes:

  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil is done for tonight’s game after colliding with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast in the first period of the matchup this evening. Chytil left with what is being described as an upper-body injury and was last seen on the Rangers bench in obvious pain before leaving the game. The 24-year-old center has six assists in nine games this season and has been working primarily as the team’s second-line center. Should he be out for any period it is likely that Vincent Trocheck was moved up to the second line in his absence.
  • The Ottawa Senators have tweeted that young forward Ridly Greig left tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury and did not return. The news was similar for Greig’s teammate Mark Kastelic who also suffered a lower-body injury and was unable to get back onto the ice. Senators coach D.J. Smith offered an update on both players that was covered by Murray Pam of Full Press Hockey. Smith said that he figures both Greig and Kastelic will miss a few games due to their ailments. Greig has been filling in admirably for the suspended Shane Pinto and has registered two goals and five assists in eight games while Kastelic has no points and 21 PIM in eight games this year. Given the Senators’ predicament, it does seem likely that the team will have to recall some players from the Belleville Senators of the AHL.

New York Rangers Close To Signing Vincent Trocheck

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The New York Rangers are close to signing high-end center Vincent Trocheck to a seven-year contract, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports the contract has a cap hit of $5.625MM. Trocheck’s extension is similar to the extension Ryan Nugent-Hopkins deal from last summer, meaning it’s a contract that likely has an extended term in order to keep the cap hit as low as possible.

The Rangers’ offseason was always going to revolve around their decision-making in the second-line center spot. The team has operated with Ryan Strome there for the past four seasons, and now Artemi Panarin gets a different running mate for the foreseeable future. There were some who speculated that the cap-strapped Rangers would prioritize cap flexibility and run with playoff hero Filip Chytil in the 2C spot, but GM Chris Drury went in a different direction.

In Trocheck, the Rangers are getting the prototypical second-line center. He can be relied upon for about 50 points of offense, with the upside for considerably more in the right circumstances. Next to Panarin, though, those numbers are likely to rise. Trocheck can also bring a sound defensive game and help the Rangers fill the hole left by Kevin Rooney, who operated as a defensive specialist for the team for the past several years.

This signing, given its cap hit, is a major risk for New York. Trocheck as a player isn’t really risky at all, he’s proven himself as a capable top-six center and should continue to be that in Manhattan. But the risk here is in New York locking up another veteran player to a long-term, pricey contract. Chytil and Kaapo Kakko need new contracts this summer. Alexis Lafreniere and budding star K’Andre Miller will need new deals next summer. Something will have to give, and it will be extremely interesting to see what Drury and his front office do in order to keep their young players on Broadway.

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