Jacob Trouba #2 On TSN’s “Trade Bait” List

In case you had any misconceptions that the talk of the Jets trading Jacob Trouba had very little merit, TSN’s Frank Seravalli’s first edition of his 2019 spring “trade bait” board is just more proof that there is at least a little bit of fire to go with all the smoke we’ve been seeing as of late.

Trouba is the lone Jet on Seravalli’s list of fifteen players even though there has been suggestions that players like Mathieu Perreault and Nik Ehlers could be a factor in trade discussions.

Trouba is also the only pending restricted free agent on the list and of course at number two with only Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel in front of him, Jacob is the highest defenseman out of the seven that made the list.

The biggest factor behind a possible Trouba trade would seem to be money as he is due for yet another raise after what turned out to be a career year for him in assists and points in a full 82 game season. This coming summer marks the last contract he will sign before being eligible to become an unrestricted free agent and as such it would be imperative to any team that is signing him to lock him in for a lengthy multi-year deal.

Recently, Evolving Wild and Hockey Graphs released their 2019 contract projections and based on factors such baseline stats, some advanced metrics and contracts given to similar players. (You really should read the write up linked here, it’s a tad long but fascinating stuff on just how they got to the numbers they did) – Their projection for Trouba’s contract this summer? A five year deal with a $7.3 million cap hit.

With projections for players like Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor falling in at $7.2 million and $6.9 million respectively, it’s pretty obvious that there just isn’t enough room to fit the three big ticket RFA deals in with the other big contracts north of six million a year the team already has for the likes of Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Nik Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien and Connor Hellebuyck.

Not to mention, there are the persistant rumors and innuendo that Trouba has wanted out of Winnipeg and to play in an American market even since his hold out of 2016 where it became public knowledge that he requested a trade from the Jets. While such rumors have never been proven factual, they continue to lurk, fueled by the fact that the team and player haven’t been able to come to a long term agreement on a contract.

Trouba’s name near the top of a major media site’s trade list is only further proof that everything my finally come to a head this summer and the Jacob Trouba saga will finally see a conclusion, likely with his departure to a new club.