Artemi Panarin Isn’t the Rangers Player the Wild Should Be Targeting

As the NHL trade season approaches, we should start to see some clarity on which teams will be buyers, which will be sellers, and how they could fit together in trade discussions. The Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers are two teams that already seem like a natural fit.

Minnesota has gone all in on this season with the acquisition of Quinn Hughes and is still looking to make another splash. The Rangers are open for business with GM Chris Drury’s recent statement that the club “Must be honest and realistic about (their) situation,” and that means “saying goodbye to players.”

Reports have linked the Wild to Artemi Panarin for some time, and he’ll undoubtedly be on the market given that New York recently informed the star winger that they won’t be extending his contract. While Panarin could be a solid target if the Rangers are open for business, Vincent Trocheck is a potential target who would be an even better fit.

Trocheck might not be a splash acquisition like Panarin. He’s never cracked 100 points or received Hart trophy votes. Still, Trocheck’s talents address the Wild’s needs much more efficiently.

First of all, he’s a center, and Minnesota needs depth at that position. The Wild entered this season with center depth issues, and that problem has worsened after trading Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek's injury. 

Even when Eriksson Ek returns from injury, the Wild need more center depth to contend this season. Trocheck bolsters that unit the second he enters the building.

While any center would meaningfully upgrade the roster, Trocheck in particular fits some of the Wild’s needs perfectly. Minnesota needs to win more faceoffs. It’s a small part of the game, but 2016-17 was the last time the Wild won more than half of their faceoffs.

Trocheck would immediately help them in the faceoff dot. He’s won more than 50% of his draws every year since 2016-17, and has been over 55% five of the last six seasons. Trocheck’s faceoff prowess is also just a part of his fairly solid defensive toolkit. He has received Selke votes in three of the last five seasons.

Trocheck’s defensive acumen is appealing, but he’s also a threat offensively. He has scored more than 20 goals and 50 points in four straight seasons, and he set a career high with 77 points during the 2023-24 campaign.

Those scoring numbers don’t make Trocheck a primary offensive weapon, but the Wild don’t need one. They have high-output scorers like Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. Minnesota’s issue has been depth scoring for several seasons, and Trocheck is one of the best depth scorers in the league. 

Trocheck is also a desirable asset due to his playoff experience and success. He’s never won a Stanley Cup, but he reached the Eastern Conference Final with the Rangers in 2023-24 and went to the second round three straight times with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2019-20 through 2021-22. 

In his best playoff run, Trocheck put up 20 points in 16 games with the Rangers, making the kind of postseason impact the Wild need to succeed in the Central bracket. For a team clearly looking to make a Stanley Cup run, that experience is a tremendous asset. 

Trocheck would undoubtedly make a meaningful impact in Minnesota. Still, it’s vital to examine whether it makes sense, given the Wild’s cap situation. 

One of the more unique aspects of a Trocheck trade is that it won’t be a rental. The 13-year veteran is in the fourth season of a seven-year $39.375 million contract. Any team that acquires him will have to be willing to pay his $5.625 million average annual value.

According to Puckpedia, the Wild are projected to have $5,343,890 of trade deadline cap space. It isn’t quite enough to fit Trocheck’s deal. Still, it’s close enough to make it work if the Rangers retain some salary.

After this season, Minnesota will have the space to accommodate his deal in future years. Some of their current contracts, like Mats Zuccarello’s and Vladimir Tarasenko’s, are coming off the books.

Still, there are ways for Minnesota to acquire Trocheck, which would help solve its center depth issue for years to come. Trocheck is 32 years old and will be under contract until he’s 35. Naturally, the deal may offer less value as he ages. Still, a rising salary cap makes paying a 35-year-old center relatively easy to fit under the cap, even if his play diminishes slightly.

Vincent Trocheck also has a modified no-trade clause, so he will have some agency in where the Rangers can trade him. However, that may give the Wild better odds of acquiring him.

Trocheck and Bill Guerin appear to have a good relationship. At the very least, we know Guerin already appreciates what Trocheck brings to a hockey team, given their connection with Team USA.

Bill Guerin and Team USA built the rosters for the Four Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Olympics, and Vincent Trocheck made the cut both times. 

Alex Tuch, Jason Robertson, and Chris Kreider are among the impact forwards who didn’t make Team USA’s Olympic team, but Guerin trusts Trocheck enough to get the job done against the best players in the world.

Given his connection to Guerin, Trocheck would probably waive his no-trade clause to come to Minnesota.

Trocheck to Minnesota just makes sense. According to multiple reports, the Wild see him as a natural fit. David Pagnotta recently joined Jeff Marek’s “The Sheet with Jeff Marek” to discuss Bill Guerin’s interest in Trocheck.

"Before the Hughes trade, he was looking at a second-line type of player, top-six type of guy. That hasn't really stopped, whether it's going to be at the center position or somebody else on the wing,” Pagnotta said. “It certainly sounds like, at the very least, Minnesota has poked around on Vinny Trocheck's availability in New York."

At this point, the fit is too apparent to ignore. Trocheck ticks all the boxes for what the Wild are looking for, the Rangers are open for business, and the player has already endeared himself to Minnesota’s highest executive. 

Trocheck isn’t the gigantic splash that a Panarin trade represents, but he is the right fit for the Wild.