6/29/24 | 8:18 PM: Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts, “I am not sure what is going on here. I had people saying to me that it was very real. The Rangers were trying to push it along and they thought that if they could work out something with Detroit Trouba would be willing to go there. Then I had some people tell me on Saturday that it’s not close, ‘you guys’ are getting way too ahead of yourselves and this is far, far, more of a challenge then you think it’s going to be. The one thing I am reasonably certain of is this whole situation that has developed over the last week or two has been hard on Trouba. If you go back to when he was traded from Winnipeg, both the Jets and the player were ready for a divorce, it was just time for both to move on and they did. In this particular case, the Rangers may have decided, for cap reasons that they have to do this, but that doesn’t mean that Trouba is ready for this. I think he was disappointed, shocked and I think he’s still processing this possibility here. He also has a very aggressive agent who will fight for his client in this one and while Overhardt was not talking on Saturday, what one other agent told me is that when Trouba submits his list, will he make it strategic? His list is due on July 1, will he make it strategic so that places the Rangers might actually be able to trade him to or think they will be able to trade him to will be blocked. There is a lot here and one of the things that I think has made this challenging is that Trouba has struggled with the idea that the Rangers might want to move on from him. One thing to keep an eye on, remember what happened with Barclay Goodrow. He wouldn’t waive and Drury put him on waivers and Goodrow got claimed by San Jose. Trouba’s contract goes from a no-move clause to a modified no-trade, so will Drury consider the same path. All of that has to be determined in the next few days.”
6PM: The Athletic says that Trouba may decide not to waive his no-move clause before Monday even if the Rangers find a match with Detroit. They also add that if Drury finds a deal before Monday that Trouba could block it by putting that team on his no-trade list when it’s officially submitted. If Trouba were to do that then the Rangers could place Trouba on waivers or move him to one of the teams he can’t veto a trade to.
5:09 PM: Darren Dreger said on TSN “there is a lot of speculation on the future of the Captain of the Rangers. It’s important to note that he still has a no-move clause and he hasn’t been asked to waive it just yet. Speculation connecting the Rangers and Trouba to the Red Wings, sources denying that is a possibility. But it does get tricky for agent Kurt Overhardt who represents Trouba because his no-move clause kicks into a modified no-trade clause on July 1 so they are going to have to submit a no-trade list. Trouba very much wants to stay in NY for at least one more year, who knows, maybe Detroit will be on the no-trade list.”
12 PM: Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network that the Rangers and Red Wings continue talking about Trouba and it’s possible that the deal is finished today.
7:19 AM: Larry Brooks writes that the Rangers are working on a deal that would send Trouba to Detroit and see the Rangers possibly retain $2.5 million of his $8 million cap hit. (NY Post)
6/28/24 | Emily Kaplan writes that Chris Drury recently spoke with Jacob Trouba about his future but a trade is “hardly guaranteed.”
6/27/24 | 12:28 PM: Ellitotte Friedman said on The Jeff Marek Show on Thursday, “I have heard the Rangers asked for his list which is purely normal procedure. However, after what happened with Barlcay Goodrow, it’s very clear that Chris Drury is going to do, come hell or high water, what he thinks is best for the Rangers. I think that if you are Jacob Trouba you have to at least be aware of the possibility. I think they are doing their due diligence, seeing what is out there and I would have said it was impossible awhile ago, I believe it’s possible now. I wouldn’t put a percentage on how likely it is.”
Frank Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff, “The Rangers are just weighing all their options. They love what Jacob Trouba brings to their team, but they are also as aggressive as any team in the league in trying to improve. Chris Drury has made that clear since he took over….I think there has been enough trade interest so far and the Rangers are gaining some added flexibility. They want to make some moves. It’s not a definite that Trouba gets moved, he’s certainly one guy whose name has come up in multiple conversations.”
11:49 AM: Last night, The Athletic put out their latest trade board and Jacob Trouba was ranked 14th.
They wrote that the Rangers are “believed” to be looking at moving one of their defenseman, Trouba is behind Adam Fox and Braden Schneider on the right side and that he would “represent an upgrade for most teams.”
Daily Faceoff ranked Trouba 8th on their board and said that he has “positive trade equity” since he only has two years remaining and that teams would “crave his intensity, leadership and physicality.” They wonder if Detroit could be a fit and return Trouba to his native Michigan.
Arthur Staple tweets that the Rangers have asked Trouba’s team for his 15-team no trade list.
Trouba’s no-move officially turns into a 15-team no-trade list on Monday.
Adam Rotter: There is no guarantee that the Rangers trade Trouba, but this does seem like one of those “where there’s smoke, there’s fire situations. I thought for sure that Trouba would at least make it through this coming season before a trade or possible buyout would come next summer, but Chris Drury seems like he has a plan and it would appear that Trouba may not be part of it.
On the ice we would see Braden Schneider step into almost all of Trouba’s responsibilities on the second pair and an increased role on the PK. They have called Schneider “Baby Trouba” and he and K’Andre Miller were real solid together for a stretch in the playoffs. The Rangers would miss some physicality with Trouba and the lift one of his big hits could provide, but with a few adjustments to his game, Matt Rempe can provide that.
It’s what a trade of Trouba would mean off the ice that is unknown. He’s the Captain for a reason and there is no replacement that jumps out at you. It’s not going to be Mika Zibanejad or Chris Kreider because if it was going to be either if them it would have been them years ago. It won’t be Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere needs to prove he can be a consistent top-six player before he would be considered. The only two choices that I think make sense are Adam Fox or Vincent Trocheck. I always envisioned Fox as the next Captain but not for another season or two. Trocheck would be an interesting choice. He was arguably their best and most consistent player in the playoffs, he’s already part of the leadership group and he’s signed for another five-years.
We’ll see what happens. The trade itself would be interesting. Would the Rangers retain salary and how much? Would they be taking a player, possibly Trouba’s replacement on the right side, back in the deal? Then there is the question of what the Rangers would do with whatever cap space they gain.
6/29/24 | 5:13 PM: This has to be a tough process. The Rangers want Trouba’s cap space and Trouba doesn’t want to leave. Trouba has control until Monday at 12:01PM and then he can exert some level of his control with his no-trade clause. But once 12:01PM hits there will be 17 teams the Rangers can trade Trouba to without his okay and no matter how strategic Trouba and his agent are, there are going to have to be at least a couple of teams that will be some kind of match. So the idea would be the Rangers helping steer Trouba somewhere he may want to go rather than ending up anywhere on his list via trade or potentially anywhere on waivers. My guess is that either late tomorrow or early on Monday Trouba will waive his no-move to go somewhere because Drury will threaten waivers and the massive uncertainty that comes with that. Trouba wouldn’t be claimed until Tuesday and who knows which free agents might be available then, but he could easily end up in a Barclay Goodrow situation in going from the Presidents’ Trophy to the bottom of the standings. Waivers would work best for the Rangers because they wouldn’t have to retain salary or take a contract back, they would just get $8 million in cap space. It’s a ruthless move to do to your Captain, but many teams are doing things like this. Vegas seems to do it all the time with important or popular players and yet it still remains a top destination. It also happens from time to time when players either request trades or are nearly traded yet remain with their teams.