A lot has changed since Trocheck left South Florida nearly six years ago.
On the ice, he changed teams again, signing a seven-year contract with the Rangers on July 13, 2022. He had his best NHL season in 2023–24 with 77 points (25 goals, 52 assists), helping the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. He played for the United States in last season’s 4 Nations showdown and is a candidate to represent his country at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Trocheck has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 25 games this season.
Off the ice, he and his wife Hillary had a second child, Lennon, born eight months after being traded to Carolina. He moved to New York and now Leo plays minor hockey in the area.
But none of that matters to Trocheck every time he returns to Florida. He still has that same emotion, and he will again when the Rangers head there for the Winter Classic after playing in Washington on New Year’s Eve.
“My son was there for the first two years of his life,” Trocheck said. “He was born in Pittsburgh but he grew up there for the first two years of his life. We’re going back to see where we lived. It just brings back a little bit of nostalgia. That part will be fun and special. There are very few guys left on the team that were there when I was there, but a lot of the staff is still there. I always enjoy it when we come back and I get to see the staff that I was with for a long time. It’s nostalgic to go back and it will obviously be different being that it’s an outdoor game in Miami and not at Sunrise.”
According to Trocheck, the only Panthers players remaining from his time in the organization are center Alexander Barkovdefender Aaron Ekblad and goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky.
These three were part of the core that led Florida to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships after a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.
This is quite different from what Trocheck experienced. The Panthers made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once during his time with them. He played in two games in 2016 and they were eliminated in six games by the New York Islanders in the first round.
And now they have access to outdoor play they never thought possible.
“It’s great for hockey to obviously have another hockey market and I feel like they’ve brought so much excitement there when it comes to hockey,” Trocheck said. “The youth programs there are a lot better now. I think (Panthers owner) Vinny Viola has done a great job of making it what it is today. I’m very happy for them obviously, for the staff there and for the friends I still have on that team. But, for me, you leave a team and then they win a few Cups, it’s not always fun. I’m always happy for the people I was there with.”
