Defenseman Jacob Trouba remains to be one of the big-name RFA players who remains unsigned at this point of the offseason. His name has been tossed around Red Wings trade rumors for quite some time, and now, it seems the likeliness of Trouba being moved has reached a peak level. Trouba and his agent issued a statement late on Saturday evening:
“Our client, Jacob Trouba, will not be attending the Winnipeg Jets NHL training camp. Since May, we have been working with the Jets management in an effort to facilitate a trade of Jacob’s rights. Both parties continue to work on this matter.
There has been no negotiation regarding the terms of a contract between our client and the Jets over the course of the last several months. The situation is not about money; it is solely about our client having the opportunity to realize his potential as a right shot NHL defenseman.To the Jets credit, the club has two outstanding right shot veteran defensemen and our client simply wants the opportunity to have a greater role. As a consequence of the Jets depth on the right side, we believe it is in both parties’ best interest to facilitate a mutually advantageous trade.
Our client has nothing but respect for the people and City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Jets, its fans, management and ownership – our desire to get him moved has everything to do with opportunity. We will continue to work with the Jets in good faith to achieve this end.”
Should the Red Wings inquire for Jacob Trouba?
The obvious answer is yes, but there are a lot of questions. Trouba has yet to sign a contract extension, so it’s unsure just how much he will cost. Winnipeg will be shooting for the stars in a trade that ships him out of town, so the Red Wings would need to send value, and move significant cap space. The likelihood of it costing them a player like Gustav Nyquist, or Tomas Tatar plus other assets are high. Detroit has already done enough “addition by subtraction” this offseason, for me, if this deal is to happen, Holland needs to swing for the fences and fleece the Jets.
Has Ken Holland already contacted the Jets?
It’s hard to imagine a world where Jacob Trouba requests a trade back in May, and Ken Holland, a GM who is desperately trying to rebuild his defensive corps hasn’t already kicked tires on making a deal. The price will be steep, and I have a feeling Holland isn’t about to gut his farm system to get one player. Not to mention, the Red Wings already have a glut of defensemen clogging up the NHL lineup. Clearly there are a lot of moving parts here that need to be settled before a deal is in place.
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All-in-all, Trouba is not a bonafide number-one defenseman. But the native of Rochester, and former Michigan Wolverine would be a huge help to an aging and questionable group of rearguards. If Ken Holland is to make a deal, it’s going to cost him. If he’s truly committed to changing this team up, he will find a way to make it happen. Otherwise, the Red Wings will enter the 2016-2017 season with just as many questions looming as there were when they were bumped from the playoffs early in the summer.
UPDATE: Some interesting stuff from the Trouba camp… He will be skating in Detroit for the time being:
#NHLJets RFA D Jacob Trouba told me tonight he plans to train and skate in Detroit until the matter is resolved
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports) September 25, 2016
Keep in mind that Trouba is from the Metro-Detroit area, but the idea of him coming home to skate and train is still interesting.
