Wild Linked To Rangers' Vincent Trocheck As Trade Market Heats Up

The NHL trade deadline is still well over a month away but there appears to be another soft deadline approaching with the Olympic break coming up in just a matter of weeks. With that league-wide pause, we get that roster freeze so now general managers are trying to get all their ducks in a row so they aren't panicked when the NHL resumes and there's just over a week until the actual deadline.

Rasmus Andersson, potentially the top blueliner available on the market, was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights as part of this soft deadline. So, will the Minnesota Wild now get involved?

Well, after getting Quinn Hughes, Bill Guerin is now looking to fill some holes up front in the form of a potential top-six center. And it just so happens that the New York Rangers are waving the white flag on their season just in time.

On Friday's episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta connected the Wild's search for a center exactly to Rangers' Vincent Trocheck. And you know what? It makes a whole lot of sense.

"We know that Minny is not afraid to continue to make moves. Billy Guerin has been very active," Pagnotta told Marek.

"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. It certainly sounds like, at the very least, Minnesota has poked around on Vinny Trocheck's availability in New York."

With it being still a little early and a lot of teams still in the playoff hunt, the sellers have not been clearly defined yet, but among teams who are out of it, Trocheck does feel like the easiest conclusion to make when it comes to what the Wild need and what he can bring.

The 32-year-old has scored 11 goals and 29 points in 35 games this season, and the only real downside is that he's under contract through the 2028-29 season. Trocheck should still be plenty effective for the next couple years, but it's those final couple seasons that are a little bit worrisome. His contract carries a $5.625-million AAV, so at least it's somewhat manageable no matter what.

That's Wild

• With a whole lot of players out due to injury, it was Mats Zuccarello that popped in the overtime winner for the Wild to earn a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres, pulling them out of a losing streak. [StarTribune]
• The Wild have spent a whole lot of draft picks and assets to build a solid pipeline of defensemen. Well, it's time for them to finally start doing something. [Hockey Wilderness]

Off the trail...

• Flames GM Craig Conroy was a little blunt. He straight up said that Rasmus Andersson's refusal to sign a contract extension with whatever his new team ended up being, changed the market on him. [Sportsnet]
• USA beats Canada to win its 10th IIHF Women's Under-18 title. [Daily Faceoff]