It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re in the middle of the off-season, but we still have plenty to discuss. General managers are still trying to figure on how to maximize their salary cap space and fine-tune their rosters. Not much has happened after the initial free agent frenzy. However, there’s always plenty going on in the hot stove. One team that’s trying to back to the Stanley Cup Final is the New York Rangers. This edition of NHL rumours look at the status of one of their key defencemen.
All NHL Rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
New York Rangers Defender Future Update
Rumour: Arthur Staple of The Athletic gave an update on the status of Rangers captain Jacob Trouba. The defenceman has been a subject of trade rumours.
As mentioned in here, Ryan Lindgren’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2. Those hearings usually act as a deadline to get a contract done.https://t.co/wge6GBuebZ
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 16, 2024
Analysis: Trouba has a sizeable cap of $8 million that the Rangers and General Manager Chris Drury were trying to move. However, the 30-year-old has a modified no-trade clause of 15 teams. New York was trying to see if there were any takers on getting his salary off the books.
A couple of teams such as the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres have been bandied about as a possible landing spots. However, nothing much has come of this. There were some thinking that Trouba was going off to the Red Wings, but that move did not materialize.
Stumbling Blocks
Trouba is well within his right to veto a trade to the teams that are on his no-move list. This is part of the terms that were negotiated when he signed with the Rangers. However, that no-trade list reduces to 12 teams when the clock moves to the 2025-26 season.
One of the reasons that Trouba may not want to move is because he doesn’t want to uproot his family. Movement is something that is a part of life for professional athletes. However, Trouba would like to keep his family life stable and his wife has a residency at Manhattan Hospital.
That residency finishes up next year and the contract will be easier to move. A one-year commitment with an $8 million price tag may not be so hard to digest for a team.
Opening Up Space
The Rangers have some business to attend to in the next off-season. Players like Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller are all up for new contracts among some of the major players on the team. Getting Trouba’s $8 million off the books would be a huge boost to Drury in his quest for keeping these three players on the roster.
Drury already had a major stroke of luck in getting Barclay Goodrow‘s contract off the books this off-season. However, there’s still work to be done in the next couple of off-seasons. Lafreniere is finally starting to play like the much-ballyhooed top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Miller is starting to round into a key piece of the Blueshirts’ defensive group.
The Trouba deal does sort of weigh the Rangers down and getting all or part of that deal off the books would help Drury out. However, there may be a waiting game until a trade is possible.
Main photo by: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
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