NY Rangers Counting on Young Forward To Help Replace Vincent Trocheck

Replacing Vincent Trocehck won't be easy, but the New York Rangers hope one of their youngsters are up to the task.

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck (16) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It felt like a matter of when, not if, the New York Rangers were going to move on from Vincent Trocheck.

Featured in plenty of trade rumors ahead of the deadline in March, those talks heated up even more in the offseason. Just a few days into free agency, a deal was completed, sending Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for defenseman Sean Durzi, center prospect Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third-round pick.

Beaudoin is the player who will make or break this deal for the Rangers in terms of it being a win or not. The team hopes he will eventually emerge as a reliable middle-six option who can produce on both ends of the ice.

Alas, he is probably a year away from being a full-time contributor. New York needs someone to step up and replace Trocheck on the NHL roster, and the player they are counting on to do that is Noah Laba.

Noah Laba will be counted on to help replace Vincent Trocheck

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Noah Laba (42) skates against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It is going to take a team effort to replace what Trocheck provided the Rangers. He was a respected leader and did a lot of the dirty work to help a team win that may not show up in the box score.

Multiple players will be counted on to replicate what the veteran center brought to the table, but Laba is who the team believes is capable of making the biggest leap to fill that void down the middle.

"I think he has good size, he can really skate and I think he has an aptitude for the game," head coach Mike Sullivan said of Laba, via Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "We liked the progress that he made in particular on the defensive side. I do think there's an offensive dimension to his game that he can continue to evolve and build, but certainly we're going to rely on putting him in defensive situations, difficult situations against other team's best players, and we think he's a guy that can handle that."

Trocheck was someone New York counted on to set the tone defensively. He was key to the team’s penalty kill unit and was excellent in the face-off circle. Laba is someone who can help replace those attributes while continuing to develop and grow into a role offensively.

Rangers have the pieces to replace Vincent Trocheck

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center J.T. Miller (8) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The young center won’t be on the team’s first power-play unit, which will feature Pavel Dorofeyev, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fox. But Laba could certainly have a role on the second group, where Gabe Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Durzi look to be the only sure-fire pieces right now.

With Miller moving back to center, a role he is more comfortable with, a lot of the offensive responsibility that Trocheck shouldered will be placed upon him. Eventually, it would be great to see Laba or Beaudoin grow into that role, but for now, they won’t be stretched too thin.

While they may not have No. 1 center upside, having capable depth to round out the middle and bottom six is key to sustaining success. The Rangers look to have that covered with Laba ready for an expanded role and Beaudoin not too far behind.