Rangers Daily: Durzi fits right in; Larkin adds Devils to trade list

Sure, they play different positions so a direct comparison is not exactly apples to apples, as they say. But New York Rangers defenseman Sean Durzi sure shares quite a few similarities with the guy he was traded for this past summer, Vincent Trocheck .

Just starting physically — they are of similar size (Durzi is 6-foot, 199 pounds; Trocheck 5-foot-11, 187 pounds) with dark hair, and quick smile — dare we say mischievous smirk. Heck, each player has a pretty prominent nose that's clearly taken a knock or two over the years.

Personality-wise, Durzi and Trocheck are both very outgoing, comfortable with the media, funny, honest, and extremely popular with their teammates.

On the ice, even though Durzi is a defenseman and Trocheck a forward, they both bring a strong commitment to playing a diligent two-way game. Each is a right-shot and trusted in all game situations at even strength, as well as on the power play and penalty kill. And neither is to be f***ed with, even if they're far from being the biggest players on the ice.

They even make similar salaries. Durzi takes in $6 million annually and Trocheck makes $5.625 million .

New York goal! Scored by Sean Durzi with 18:42 left in the 1st. Assisted by Pavel Dorofeyev and Tye Kartye. NYR: 1 | ANA: 0 #ANAvsNYR #NYR #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/Osr0tQMJOf — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

New York goal! Scored by Sean Durzi with 18:42 left in the 1st. Assisted by Pavel Dorofeyev and Tye Kartye. NYR: 1 | ANA: 0 #ANAvsNYR #NYR #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/Osr0tQMJOf

NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 19, 2026

Trocheck was a really good Ranger for his four seasons on Broadway from 2022-26. He's missed around here, for sure, and will be even more so if either J.T. Miller or Mika Zibanejad gets injured at any point. The Rangers do not have much center depth, and that's already been proven with trying to fill the 4C role after Joe Veleno sustained a lower-body injury that should sideline him into at least January.

But Durzi, who turned 28 Wednesday and is five years younger than Trocheck, already has helped solidify and improve the Rangers defense corps, partnering with another veteran newcomer — Marcus Pettersson — on the second pair. He's averaging more than 20 minutes a night TOI, has four points (two goals, two assists), and is third on the Rangers with 18 blocked shots in 11 games.

An added bonus is that he's fit perfectly into the locker room and as a respected leader, helping to fill the void created by Trocheck's departure.

The key is for Durzi to remain healthy, something he struggled to do with shoulder issues costing him 74 games the previous two seasons with the Utah Mammoth. He's signed for one more year past this one, but that worry, if that's what we'll call it, is for anoither day.

Right now, Durzi is a real nice fit on Broadway, in all ways, not just one. Just like the player he was traded for used to be.

Longtime American Hockey League beat reporter Patrick Williams joins the Rink Rap podcast to talk all things Hartford Wolf Pack, including the hiring of "top-5" coach Jay Leach , and provides plenty of excellent insight into Dylan Garand and the goalie's terrific start this season with the Rangers. You can watch the full episode at the Forever Blueshirts YouTube page .

Tom Castro takes a really deep dive to explain why the Rangers defensemen have suboptimal underlying metrics, and how that could upend the team's fast start this season.

The latest notebook on Rangers prospects from the CHL and USHL features forwards Darian Anderson and Spencer Bowes remaining red hot to start their seasons.

The Wolf Pack are on a five-game losing streak , but Steven Voogel finds some positives to go along with needed areas of improvement, especially for the young Rangers prospects.

New Jersey Hockey Now : James Nichols reacts to reports out of Detroit that Dylan Larkin expanded his list of teams he'd except a trade to 10, and he's added the Devils in that group.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now : Scary stuff when the Penguins charter flight returned to Salt Lake City shortly after takeoff because young forward Ben Kindel had a "medical episode" on the plane and was whisked directly to a hospital in Utah after landing. Shelly Anderson reports that Kindel is in stable condition and further updates will come from the team, when available.

TSN : On the latest Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun reported that the Red Wings and holdout RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson met face-to-face twice last week without resolving his contract situation.

NHL Trade Rumors : Before the Columbus Blue Jackets stepped on the ice against Kirill Marchenko and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, several of their players ripped their former teammate , who pushed for a trade after expressing zero interest in re-signing with the CBJ.

Sportsnet : Marchenko, though, got the last laugh , scoring a goal in Toronto's 6-2 victory in Columbus.

Florida Hockey Now : Panthers No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom is out 10-14 days with an upper-body injury sustained in practice Monday. Akira Schmid takes over the starting duties, but the Panthers have a big solution as to who the next man up is in the crease — they recalled 6-foot-8 rookie Cooper Black.

NHL.com : The Panthers face-off against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, meaning the return of former Sens captain Brady Tkachuk for the first time since he asked out of Canada's capital and forced a trade to South Florida. His reception isn't expected to be pretty , though Amalie Benjamin reports that Tkachuk was set to have diner with a bunch of his former teammates Tuesday.

Daily Faceoff: Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield left their 5-2 road win over the Washington Capitals with an upper-body injury.