Media Bytes: Trocheck, Miller's Malaise, Othmann, Schneider, Rangers' Reputation, Gavrikov

Welcome back to Media Bytes, a weekly column from Blueshirt Banter. Every Sunday, we’ll help you start the week right with a quick catch-up on the latest stories and developments around the New York Rangers and the broader NHL media landscape.

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Trocheck Readying to Get Wild?

1. Nothing will move here until after the Olympics wrap, but Vincent Trocheck's name popped up again—yet again linked to the Minnesota Wild in a Feb. 4 Q&A from Joe Smith at The Athletic.

"New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck is one player who could make sense for the Wild," Smith wrote, while noting he's far from the only center on their radar. "The Wild are canvassing their options."

Smith also took care to level-set Minnesota's situation, pointing out that Bill Guerin doesn’t exactly have a deep pool of premium trade chips after going all-in earlier this season to acquire Quinn Hughes.

"Charlie Stramel and Jesper Wallstedt are possibilities if the deal is right," Smith wrote. "But you can only trade those guys once."

Stramel is particularly interesting here given reports that the Rangers were prepared to take him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft before Minnesota grabbed him at 21st. A natural center, he's currently tied for sixth in NCAA scoring this season at Michigan State as of Feb. 15.

2. In Part IV of his 'NHL Trade Matchmaker' series over at The Athletic—a column co-authored with James Mirtle—Chris Johnston predicts that Trocheck will be traded to the Wild.

"They will be challenged to put together the right deal to get Trocheck from the Rangers because of the A-plus assets they’ve already spent elsewhere," he wrote. "But Guerin has shown an ability to get things done. He’s certainly not shy about taking a big swing."

Mirtle, however, believes that Trocheck will instead land with the Montreal Canadiens, telling readers that Trocheck fits the description of filling their 2C role to a tee. "The fact he comes with some term at a reasonable cap hit will help the Habs bridge the gap as their youth movement progresses," he said.

Unlike Minnesota, Montreal hasn't drained its prospect cupboard yet. On paper, it makes plenty of sense for the Rangers to at least explore something with the Canadiens involving Trocheck—especially if a player like Michael Hage is part of the conversation. Hage is currently tied for fourth in NCAA scoring this season at Michigan as of Feb. 15.

But Montreal as a trade partner raises two obvious questions. First, is an American-born player willing to embrace playing in a Canadian market? That’s not always a given. And second, can the two organizations get past any lingering Chris Drury–Jeff Gorton tensions long enough to actually make a deal that benefits both sides?