The Detroit Red Wings have two items on their trade deadline wishlist they need to check off. One of those items is to land a second-line center with term remaining on their contract. The top, most attainable option could be Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers.
Trocheck is fresh off of winning a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. He is under contract for multiple seasons, he provides value on the penalty kill and in face-off situations. Considering the Rangers are in a retool, Trocheck is their top player that can be traded. Since the Rangers announced their plans to trade away players, the Minnesota Wild have been consistently linked to Trocheck.
But now, the Wild's chances seemingly have taken a hit.
During an interview on The Flying V Podcast, The Athletic's Wild reporter Michael Russo was skeptical of the Wild's chances of landing Trocheck due in part to their lack of premium assets.
Wild doubts give Red Wings better chance of landing Vincent Trocheck
"I have no doubt that this is the guy that Bill Guerin wants to go get. But I just wonder at the end of the day here, if Chris Drury could do better," said Russo. "And so because of that, if the Wild aren't going to give up [Danila] Yurov, I don't know where I would put it percentage-wise. I just think other teams are going to be able to do better because he's got three years left on his deal. And I just think that a lot of teams have a lot of need for him because everybody is looking for a right shot center. So I think the Wild are going to make a trade. I just don't know if at the end of the day, it's going to be Trocheck. But there's no doubt in my mind that that's who they love."
While the Wild are considered front runners for Trocheck, that doesn't mean they are a lock to be able to acquire him via a trade. All it takes is an interested team to increase their offers, especially one like the Red Wings, who have plenty to offer in terms of young players and draft picks. The Wild don't have a deep pool of prospects due to the Quinn Hughes trade. Not to mention, the Wild don't even have a first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft. Hence why Russo says he's not 100 percent sold that the Wild can get a deal done with the Rangers for Trocheck.
This season, Trocheck posted 12 goals, 24 assists, and a 56.5 face-off percentage through 43 games. In six Winter Olympics games, Trocheck recorded three assists and a 65.0 face-off percentage.
The Red Wings have been linked to other centers, such as Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues and Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks. Thomas reportedly has a high trade price attached to him by the Blues, but the Red Wings have the assets to potentially get a deal done. As for Pettersson, he carries an $11.6 million cap hit every season until the summer of 2032. It would take the Canucks retaining some salary to get a good return. Yet, the Red Wings are a team with a better overall roster, increasing the chances of Pettersson returning to his former All-Star form.
There is over a week left until the trade deadline, so things can obviously change. But in regards to a Trocheck trade to the Wild, it seems far from a sure thing. That opens the door for the Red Wings to make a move, barring he's not on Trocheck's no-trade list.