Trocheck seeks progress from Rangers: 'Put up or shut up'

New York Rangers veteran Vincent Trocheck has lofty expectations for his team this coming season after a disappointing first-round exit over the spring.

"No B.S.," Trocheck told NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

"This team has been looked at as a team that can take the next step in the future for a while now. That future is now. We don't have all this time to waste. It's put up or shut up at this point."

The Rangers have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons after only making it once - the qualifying round of the 2020 bubble postseason - in the four years prior.

New York reached the Eastern Conference Final in its return to the playoffs in 2022 but blew a 2-0 series lead to the rival New Jersey Devils in the opening round in 2023, Trocheck's first season with the club. The early elimination led to the firing of head coach Gerard Gallant, who led the team to 110- and 107-point seasons in two years at the helm.

The Rangers were commonly viewed as a young team on the rise under Gallant, but Trocheck believes New York has the necessary experience to be a contender.

"We don't have that 'get to the playoffs and that's success' mentality," he said. "We know how awful it was losing in the first round last year, so we're coming in here, and we mean business. You get sick of losing."

Trocheck managed 64 points in 82 games in his first season on Broadway, then added a single goal in the playoffs. He'll begin his 11th NHL campaign on Oct.12 when the Rangers meet the Buffalo Sabres.