Several Rangers players were lining up in the locker room early Thursday afternoon, having just finished practice.
Vincent Trocheck was one of the first players to arrive in the locker room, and as he sat still in his hockey gear, several reporters began to gather around him.
The Rangers center knew this was coming.
Ryan Lindgren similarly prepared for his role as the central figure in the story during the Rangers’ last series against the Capitals, with the goaltender being Lindgren’s older brother Charlie.
And just as Lindgren cringed at the thought of his brother’s matchup being the center of attention in that series, Trocheck similarly cringed at the thought of playing his former team when the Rangers take on the Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs. I was reluctant to talk about what I would do. Sunday.
Trocheck, who played in Carolina from 2019-20 to 2021-22 and signed with the Rangers in 2022, joked that there are other Rangers players available to talk to reporters.
“Laffey can talk,” he joked about teammate Alexis Lafreniere.
After some casual banter with reporters, Trocheck got straight to his point when asked about playing against his former teammate.
“It’s just another series,” he said.
Of course not.
But this is the view Trocheck chooses.
“This is a playoff series that we have to get through in order to achieve our goal of winning a Stanley Cup,” Trocheck said.
That much is clear.
So is his value to the Rangers, and Trocheck will do everything for them. He’s one of the key 5-on-5 lines, a mainstay on the power play, and a key player on the penalty kill.
In his two years with the Rangers, Trocheck played in all 164 regular season games.
Trocheck, now 30, will leave Carolina after the 2022 season and sign a seven-year, $39,375,000 contract with the Rangers, who won seven games in the second round of the Eastern Conference along with the Canes. , terminated his contract with the Keynes. Teams are looking to begin whenever the NHL sees fit to announce a schedule.
Trocheck is coming off the best season of his career, scoring 25 goals, dishing out a career-high 52 assists, and scoring a career-high 77 points.
He averaged a career-high 21.27 minutes of ice time per game and had a career-high 86 blocked shots.
Trocheck has been great in the postseason so far, recording three goals and three assists in the Rangers’ four games against Washington.
He also won an impressive 72% of his matches in the Capitals series.
Trocheck doesn’t want to talk about it with his former teammates.
“I’ve played against them a lot since I left,” Trocheck said.
this is true.
Trocheck has played six times with the Hurricanes since signing with the Rangers and has two assists but has yet to score a goal.
“Playing against my former team is nothing new for me,” he said. “I played in Carolina against Florida. [for which he played his first seven seasons] Many times. That’s what happens in this league when you go from team to team. ”
Trocheck said he still keeps in touch with some of his former teammates at Carolina, some of whom he calls “very good friends, very close friends.”
When asked which person he was closest to, Trocheck looked as uncomfortable as he did when reporters first approached him.
“It’s personal,” he said. “I’ll keep that between me and them.”
Trocheck and the Hurricanes aren’t the only personal connection to this fascinating series.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette spent four seasons in Carolina, leading the Hurricanes to their only Stanley Cup championship in 2005-06.
The Hurricanes’ current coach is Rod Brind’Amour, who is in his sixth year and was the captain of the Laviolette Cup winning team.
Trocheck played all three seasons in Carolina with Brind’Amour and spoke about his former and current coaches Thursday.
“I think Rod learned a lot from Ravi.” [Laviolette] It was the same back then, and it’s very similar,” Trocheck said. “They’re different people, but the way they approach the game is pretty similar. The way they are as people and how they really care about the family aspect of the team is similar as well.”
Laviolette praised Brind’Amour’s work as a coach, winning two of the last three seasons in the Metropolitan Division.
“He led the team in the right direction every year,” Laviolette said. “I would say his teams are playing the right way, they’re playing hard, and he definitely has the gravitas for it.”
Laviolette praised Brind’Amour’s “excellent” leadership as a player.
“Especially the year we won the Cup,” he continued. “When he spoke, he commanded the room. I think his work ethic as a player is reflected as well as a coach. They’re playing well, they’re well prepared and , that reflects him.”
