Why Rangers star ‘thought I was dying’ early in season, also addresses uncertain future
Remember when Vincent Trocheck missed 13 games early in the New York Rangers season due to an upper-body injury? Yeah, well, the veteran center revealed Friday at the team’s breakup day that wasn’t exactly a typical hockey injury. And it threw quite the scare into him, as well.
Thinking that he had back spasms, Trocheck played the regular-season opener on Oct. 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a 3-0 loss at Madison Square Garden. Still dealing with discomfort, the 32-year-old was right back out there two nights later for a 4-0 road win against the Buffalo Sabres.
But he soon found out it wasn’t back spasms he was dealing with. It was a nasty viral infection, and it landed him in the hospital after the game in Buffalo.
“I thought I was just having back spasms, and then I played the first game. Got a little bit worse. Played in Buffalo. I got a cross-check right in that area, and whatever fluid was in there it’s like bubbles, and I guess the bubble burst and it spread. So, then it just got a lot worse,” Trocheck explained Friday. “I had a lot of fluid around my lung, so I had to have surgery to get the fluid removed.
“It was very scary. I thought I was dying.”
The popular Blueshirt spent an uncomfortable week in the hospital, connected to chest tubes, and didn’t return to the lineup until Nov. 10. Trocheck didn’t seem to miss a beat, recording two assists in his first game back against the Nashville Predators, New York’s first home-ice win of the season after seven straight losses (0-6-1) at MSG.
He followed with his first two goals of the season in a 7-3 rout over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 12, and finished the 2025-26 season tied for fourth on the Rangers with 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) in 67 games.
But he struggled to produce for most of January, coinciding with a collective team-wide faceplant amid injury absences for Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers tumbled into the cellar of the Eastern Conference, where they finished with a 34-39-9 record and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.
“I’m a competitive guy. I don’t like to lose. We’re not used to this situation, being out of the playoffs two years in a row. Not making the playoffs sucks,” Trocheck stated Friday.
Vincent Trocheck doesn’t ‘know what’s going to happen’ with his Rangers future uncertain
With the Rangers in the midst of a retool, Trocheck’s future with the organization is in flux. Unlike many other veterans on the roster, Trocheck’s trade protection is limited (10 teams in 2026-27, six the following two years). And even though he’s a respected letter-wearing leader, a heart-and-soul fan favorite, Olympic gold medalist, and extremely valuable player who averages more than 20 minutes TOI per game, there’s a good chance the Rangers trade Trocheck this summer.
The things that make him so valuable to the Rangers, including his affordable salary-cap hit of $5.625 million for the next three seasons, are what makes Trocheck so attractive to other teams. The Rangers tried to move him before the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline, even scratching him for one game due to roster management reasons, but they didn’t pull the trigger because general manager Chris Drury didn’t like any of the offers that came his way.
The Rangers want young, talented NHL players or prospects on the verge of being NHL-ready. In a way, Trocheck is an extremely valuable piece to the retool, whether the Rangers keep him or, more likely, trade him to help build up their talent base and depth.
So, does Trocheck have any idea what the future holds for him?
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll see.”
And has he spoken with Drury about the topic?
“Yeah, I talked already to ‘Dru’ [Thursday], not really about that,” Trocheck shared. “We have a good line of communication. We’ll be in contact if anything’s going on.”
Trocheck reiterated what he said ahead of the trade deadline, that he wants to play for a team that has a serious chance to be a Stanley Cup contender. Drury and Co. must decide if the Rangers’ best chance to be a contender moving forward is with or without Trocheck.
We will find out this summer.
