- Vincent Trocheck had surgery for a bacterial lung infection that kept him out of 15 games in October and November.
- A cross-check in Buffalo caused fluid around his lung to spread, sending him to the hospital with chest tubes for a week.
- Read below for Trocheck’s full account of the scare and what it meant for his season.
Vincent Trocheck spent breakup day Friday at the Rangers’ locker room telling a story nobody saw coming. The 32-year-old center revealed that his early-season absence was far more than a simple upper-body issue. He was hospitalized with a bacterial infection in his lungs and needed surgery to drain the fluid.
“It was very scary,” Trocheck told reporters. “I thought I was dying.”
The trouble started with what felt like back spasms. Trocheck played through it, including an early-season game in Buffalo. A cross-check caught him in the same spot, and the fluid that had quietly built up spread through the area.
“Whatever fluid was in there it’s like bubbles, and I guess the bubble burst and it spread,” Trocheck said. “So then it just got a lot worse. I had a lot of fluid around my lung, so I had to have surgery to get the fluid removed.”
Trocheck stayed in the hospital for a week with chest tubes. The scare lingered well after he was discharged.
The 15-game absence ended on Nov. 10 against the Predators, where Trocheck picked up a pair of assists in his first game back. He went on to help Team USA win Olympic gold in Italy, working a key spot on the American penalty kill.
The rest of the year wasn’t easy for Trocheck or the Rangers. His name stayed in trade rumors through the March deadline, though he ended up staying put. He finished with 16 goals and 37 assists in 67 games, tied with captain J.T. Miller for second on the team in scoring.
New York finished dead last in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. The front office has plenty of decisions to make this summer, though one question appears answered. Trocheck walked into breakup day healthy and ready to be part of whatever comes next for the Blueshirts.
