Will Cuylle was emotional after the New York Rangers won a home game in regulation for the first time since Nov. 24 by using a four-goal third period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
Scoring two goals in a victory is always nice – especially when you play for a team that's struggled mightily to score and win on its home ice. But Cuylle's emotions had more to do with who wasn't on the ice at MSG, rather than his own accomplishments.
The Rangers didn't dress centers Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick on the eve of the NHL Trade Deadline, citing roster management. They traded Carrick to the Buffalo Sabres after the game, and Trocheck has been at or near the top of countless trade boards for several weeks.
Cuylle lived with Trocheck before establishing himself as an NHL player, so a possible trade of his mentor is personal for the 24-year-old forward.
"He was the one who took me under his wing," Cuylle said after his second multiple-goal game of the season and third of his career. "He's been great to me my whole career here. Just tough to see him go, if he goes."
Cuylle is one of the building blocks in what general manager Chris Drury labeled a "retool" in his letter to Rangers fans in mid-January. The hulking forward has 15 goals, second on the Rangers behind Mika Zibanejad's 25, and his 213 hits are by far the most on the team – Trocheck is second with 139. He set the team single-season record with 301 hits in 2024-25 and also scored 20 goals, and led the Rangers with 249 hits in 2023-24, his rookie season.
With Carrick gone to Buffalo and Trocheck possibly headed elsewhere, either before the trade deadline or during the offseason, there's going to be a leadership vacuum on a team that's gone from Presidents' Trophy winners two years ago to last place in the Eastern Conference .
Captain J.T. Miller remains on the roster, though he's currently on IR with an upper-body injury. Adam Fox is an alternate captain, back in the lineup after missing 27 games due to injury. Mika Zibanejad is still here as a letter wearer, too, in the midst of a terrific season.
But the Rangers traded alternate captain Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings, and now Trocheck's likely gone soon, as well, making it two veteran letter wearer's no longer on the roster.
Coach Mike Sullivan envisions Cuylle to be part of the team's leadership group going forward, no matter who's traded or not.
"Will's a great kid," Sullivan said Thursday. "He works hard. He's a real good player, and when you start to establish yourself in the League, I think leadership goes hand in hand with that. He's certainly one of the young guys that we look to, to take on a leadership role with some of the younger players."
Cuylle feels he's ready.
"With more responsibility — you know, just try to manage that as best as I can and try to keep learning every day," he said. "I still feel like a young guy, so, just try to be the best I can every day and keep learning.
"Whenever this kind of stuff happens, you're given more opportunities, and you want to try to take advantage of your opportunities and try to advance your personal career forward. I think with more responsibility, [I want to] just try to manage that as best as I can and try to keep learning every day."
But while Cuylle is looking forward to an increased leadership role, he's sorry it may come via the departure of someone who's meant so much to him in the early stages of his NHL career.
Sullivan feels Cuylle is up to the task of stepping into an increased leadership role because of the way he plays the game.
"The biggest way he leads is through his example and just playing the game hard and playing the right way with the right intentions. He's a competitive guy, a good player, and I think he's trying to do a good job in trying to walk the walk, so to speak. I think that helps the group.
"He's a guy that will be looked upon moving forward to be a part of that leadership group and how this team proceeds moving forward."
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