Rangers center Vincent Trocheck sustained broken finger at 4 Nations: report

New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck reportedly came home with an unwanted souvenir from his stint with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Trocheck broke a finger in the U.S. team’s 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday, The Athletic reported Friday, citing two unidentified U.S. team sources. He did not practice with the Rangers on Friday like fellow U.S. teammates, defenseman Adam Fox and forwards Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller.

However, a league source indicated that Trocheck will not miss any time because of the injury, The Athletic also reported.

Coach Peter Laviolette said Friday that he expected all four of the Rangers on Team USA, who met the team in Buffalo, to play in Saturday’s road game against the Sabres and didn’t expect any minutes restrictions. However, he declined to comment when specifically asked about Trocheck’s finger.

“As far as Vince goes, he hasn’t missed any games so we have nothing to report,” Laviolette said.

Trocheck appeared to injury his right hand on his final shift of the first period against Sweden; he went down the tunnel before returning for the second period and ended up playing 10:48.

All four Rangers played in Canada’s 3-2 overtime win against the United States in the championship game on Thursday night in Boston. However, Trocheck played just 10:03 — only Kreider (6:25) played less among U.S. players.

Trocheck reportedly sustained broken finger at 4 Nations event

Trocheck finished the 4 Nations tournament with no points and a minus-1 rating in four games, averaging 11:11 of ice time. That’s barely more than half of his 21:19 average TOI with the Rangers this season.

One hint that something was wrong with Trocheck in the game against Canada came in the face-off circle, where he took only four draws and lost all of them. That’s unusual for a player whose 60.6 winning percentage is second in the NHL among players who’ve taken more than 250 face-offs. His 1,060 face-offs taken are sixth in the NHL, and his 642 wins are third.

Trocheck’s offensive numbers are down sharply from last season, when he finished with career highs in assists (52) and points (77). He is second on the team with 17 goals and fourth with 37 points in 55 games; the veteran center is minus-3 after finishing plus-16 last season. He has two goals and five points in New York’s past three games, including two assists in a 4-3 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 8, the Rangers’ last game before the 4 Nations break.

He has not missed a game since signing with the Rangers as a free agent in July 2022.

The Rangers need Trocheck at his best in their final 27 games. They resume play Saturday in Buffalo, followed by visits to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday and the New York Islanders on Tuesday. New York resumes play in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Detroit Red Wings, who hold the second wild card, and four behind the Ottawa Senators, who own the first wild card.

With the NHL Trade Deadline less than two weeks away on March 7, Trocheck’s status could have an impact on what general manager Chris Drury opts to do.

Drury has already made three major deals this season. He traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen on Dec. 6, forward Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, to the Seattle Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen on Dec. 18, then sent a first-round pick in the 2025 or 2026 draft plus center Filip Chytil and defenseman Victor Mancini to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31 for Miller.