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Trade Grades: Rangers deal Trocheck, land Beaudoin, Durzi from Mammoth
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- Trade Grades: Rangers deal Trocheck, land Beaudoin, Durzi from Mammoth
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Months of trade speculation culminated Wednesday with the New York Rangers dealing Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth for Sean Durz i, Cole Beaudoin , and a 2027 third-round pick.
Trade rumors swirled around the 32-year-old center for months, as the Rangers sank to the worst record in the Eastern Conference and began a retool last season. General manager Chris Drury held onto Trocheck at the 2026 NHL trade deadline in March, before ultimately moving him on the first day of NHL free agency — one of four trades made by New York on Wednesday.
Trocheck is under contract through 2028-29 and carries a team-friendly cap hit of $5.625 million. His proficiency in the face-off dot and solid two-way game made him a prime target for any contender looking to add a middle-six center, especially in an underwhelming unrestricted free-agent (UFA) market.
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The Pittsburgh native inked a seven-year deal with New York during the 2022 offseason and played a key role on its 2023-24 Presidents' Trophy squad, centering a top line that featured Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere . He finished that season with a career-high 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games, and later paced the team with eight goals and 20 points during its Eastern Conference Final run.
He tallied 89 goals and 253 points across 313 games during his four-year tenure with the Blueshirts, and won draws at a 57.9 percent clip — the second-best mark in the NHL since 2022-23, trailing only John Tavares .
Durzi joins New York with two years left on his $6 million average annual value (AAV) contract alongside Beaudoin, a 20-year-old center prospect.
Grading Rangers and Mammoth on Vincent Trocheck trade
Sean Durzi — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
New York Rangers : B+
The Rangers needed a meaningful return to justify moving Trocheck during their self-proclaimed retool. Utah's package might not match the value that Drury reportedly sought at the trade deadline, but there's enough here to make this deal worthwhile.
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At exit day, coach Mike Sullivan identified puck-moving defensemen as an offseason need, a sentiment Drury echoed. Durzi fits the bill as a strong passer with extensive power-play experience. The former second-round pick (No. 52 overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018) eclipsed 20 assists in all but one of his five NHL seasons, most recently tallying 22 helpers and 27 points in 60 games in 2025-26.
With the exception of Adam Fox , New York's blue line struggled to break the puck out and create offense in 2025-26. Durzi should help change that — as long as he can stay on the ice.
Health is something of a question mark, with injuries limiting the 27-year-old to 90 games over the past two seasons. Durzi never played more than 76 games in a single season; that mark came in 2023-24, when he recorded career highs of nine goals and 41 points, quarterbacking the Arizona Coyotes' top power-play unit.
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Barring an injury to Fox, Durzi won't crack the top power play in New York, but he should be in line for a sizable top-four role with potential for time on the second power-play unit. He'll join a revamped defensive corps in 2026-27, as the Rangers also acquired veteran Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday and drafted Latvian defenseman Alberts Šmits at No. 5 overall on Friday.
Durzi headlines the Rangers' trade return for Trocheck at the moment, but Beaudoin could prove to be the prize of the package in the long run. The former first-round pick (No. 24 overall 2024) addresses an organizational need, though his impact might not be felt as soon as Durzi. Just 20, Beaudoin is expected to play his first pro season, likely with Hartford of the American Hockey League, in 2026-27.
With an impressive 6-foot-2, 212-pound frame and plenty of runway to develop, Beaudoin immediately becomes the top center in the system. His production took a big leap in his fourth OHL season, finishing sixth in the League with 88 points and leading the Barrie Colts with 33 goals in 2025-26. He dazzled in the postseason, leading all skaters with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) across 15 games, when he helped Barrie reach the championship round. Unfortunately, an injury knocked him out of the final round.
Beaudoin realistically projects as a third-line center with potential top-six upside — a profile New York should welcome with open arms. He's a terrific penalty killer, plays a hard two-way game, and was Barrie's captain last season.
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The Rangers have no intentions of entering a full-on rebuild, as Wednesday's slew of moves loudly demonstrated. With that in mind, they certainly could have kept Trocheck and entered 2026-27 with a more impressive forward group.
Instead, they add a defenseman who fills a glaring need and a young center who could develop into a nice middle-six player. That's a better fit for New York, given the current state of its roster.
Utah Mammoth: C+
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Trocheck undoubtedly brings a lot to the table for any team looking to make noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His best days might be behind him, though.
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Trocheck's defensive metrics took a nosedive over the past three seasons. He's still a reliable offensive contributor, posting back-to-back 50-point seasons despite New York's waning success, but he hasn't been able to replicate the consistency he displayed in a very impressive 2023-24 campaign.
Perhaps a change of scenery could do him some good. The last two Rangers seasons were clouded by a disgruntled locker room and poor performance. Trocheck proved his worth on the Olympic stage in February, anchoring a dominant USA penalty kill alongside Blueshirts teammate J.T. Miller , and has a gold medal to show for it.
Between his playmaking ability and elite face-off skills, there's reason to believe that Trocheck can still play an important role on a playoff contender. Utah needed an upgrade down the middle, and he checks a lot of boxes that earn favor with most NHL coaches, displaying a willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice and play a hard-nosed game.
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It's simply a curious move for the Mammoth given their current window.
Trocheck was also linked to teams like the Minnesota Wild , an organization clearly in a win-now mindset after trading for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes last season. Utah is a contender, but win-now might be a bridge too far.
The Mammoth made the playoffs in 2025-26, clinching a berth as the top wild-card team in the Western Conference with 92 points (43-33-6). They've got a couple of "win-now" pieces, including 27-year-old star forward Clayton Keller , 28-year-old defenseman Mikhail Sergachev , and former Islanders captain Anders Lee , who signed a three-year contract in free-agency. Still, it's hard to envision Utah as a Stanley Cup champion until young talent like Logan Cooley (23) and Dylan Guenther reach their primes.
Trocheck will be 33 next season and is already showing signs of potential regression. His cap hit is very manageable, but the Mammoth might not be able to maximize his talents like other teams could have.
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Parting with two younger players, including a key blue-liner in Durzi, could bite them in the long run.
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