Minnesota Closing in on Vincent Trocheck Trade, or Close to Losing Him?
The NHL trade deadline is now ~24 hours away, and to this point, we are still waiting for Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin to pull off his much-anticipated SECOND blockbuster trade of the 2025-2026 season.
We’ve seen a couple moves around the edges recently, to help strengthen the roster for a deep playoff run, but nothing of major significance since December, when Billy sent a boatload of the Wild’s best young players/prospects to Vancouver, in exchange for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes.
That said, trade rumors continue to swirl. And when it comes to the chatter around Minnesota — especially since the Olympic break ended — all trade rumors seemingly lead to Team USA center Vincent Trocheck, who the New York Rangers are shopping hard before the deadline.
During the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Guerin spent lots of time with many of the league’s top executives, while they all watched a Team USA squad he built win its first men’s Gold Medal in 46 years. His right hand American executive for the historic run was none other than Rangers GM Chris Drury.
Minnesota Wild nearing deal for Vincent Trocheck?
When we went to sleep on Wednesday night, Minnesota was still the leader in the trade deadline clubhouse to land Trocheck, but other teams were still very much in the mix, specifically the Detroit Red Wings.
While I still see a strong chance that Vincent Trocheck is wearing red and green in Vegas on Friday night, a source in the Big Apple tells me that Detroit is making a strong push to land the prolific faceoff-winner.
— Jess Myers (@JessRMyers) March 4, 2026
And as the morning unfolded Thursday, it started to feel like the Wild might be nearing an agreement with the Rangers for their 32-year-old center, elite penalty killer and top NHL faceoff specialist.
According to the New York beat writers at The Athletic (Vincent Mercogliano and Peter Baugh) Minnesota’s standing offer for Trocheck is the best Drury currently has on the table, and that the Rangers “might ultimately take [the deal]”.
But before they pull the trigger New York wants to make sure a higher bid doesn’t come through before Friday’s deadline buzzer.
Drury has signaled he’s willing to hold his assets, according to a league source. It’s a viable threat considering his most coveted players are under team control beyond this season, most notably center Vincent Trocheck and defenseman Braden Schneider. But there’s a feeling around the league he could be using that as a negotiating tactic.
The pressure is on to do something after Drury published a Jan. 16 letter declaring a retool…The belief here remains that Trocheck will be moved — he seems to think the same thing — with the Minnesota Wild the team to watch. Their GM, Bill Guerin, made it clear Tuesday’s acquisition of fourth-line center Michael McCarron doesn’t preclude him from pursuing more help down the middle.
The Wild are not on Trocheck’s 12-team no-trade list and have extended an offer, as colleagues Michael Russo and Joe Smith reported. The package is likely built around Michigan State center Charlie Stramel, who has been the buzz for weeks and was mentioned in my Jan. 28 column.
The Athletic
The Wild’s offer for Trocheck revolves around Michigan State prospect, Charlie Stramel, which was reported yesterday. Unlike Wednesday, however, there is no mention in The Athletic’s piece about Minnesota’s 2027 first round pick being included in the package.
The online excitement surrounding a possible Vincent Trocheck trade to the Wild only intensified as the morning went on, when local The Athletic insider, Michael Russo, started tweeting out “pompous” smiley faces in reference to the veteran’s “game-time decision” status before tonight’s Rangers vs Maple Leafs game.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 5, 2026
But moments after stoking the Trocheck + Wild fire on Twitter, Russo dropped his own update regarding the situation via The Athletic’s MN Wild trade tracker. But surprisingly, Michael did NOT double down on what his New York colleagues reported just hours earlier.
Russo: Nope, Trocheck to Wild steam is actually fading…
Instead, Russo unexpectedly slammed on the Vincent Trocheck to Minnesota breaks, writing that the Wild’s pursuit of New York’s Olympic Gold Medalist is actually fading, not heating up.
The Wild’s hopes of getting Vincent Trocheck are fading.
The price for the New York Rangers center appears to be too rich at this point. It may just be that they don’t have the assets to get it done… Minnesota continues its pursuit of a center, though…likely looking for a top-six addition.
Michael Russo – The Athletic
Russo writes that, while the Minnesota Wild remain on the hunt for a top six centerman, he doesn’t seem all that convinced by the Wild’s varying interest in paying the high trade price for Robert Thomas (Blues) OR interest in other, cheaper centers like Nazem Kadri (Flames), Charlie Coyle (Jackers) and Ryan O’Reilly (Predators).
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Apparently, we shouldn’t be surprised if Guerin and the Wild end up standing pat and rolling into the stretch run with the team they’ve already got, especially if Drury isn’t going to bring his Trocheck price down. At least, that’s what our favorite NHL insider (who has a direct line to Billy G.) is reporting.
Remember, the Wild may find it smarter to hang onto their remaining assets and go big-game hunting this offseason if potential difference makers hit the market.
Michael Russo – The Athletic
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this is one of those situations where media is being used as a negotiating tool for the team it coves. Of course, I would NEVER accuse a respected journalist like Mr. Russo of such things.
Thus, we’ll just have to wait and see how the Trocheck sweepstakes play out over the next 24+ hours, because these dueling reports out of the same NY Times sports media outlet is something that has my antennas up for sure…
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