Rangers Still Trying To Move Jacob Trouba But All Signs Point To Him Staying in New York
TSN: ESPN Hockey Analyst Emily Kaplan joined SportsCenter with Jay Onrait to discuss the situation in New York with the Rangers and Jacob Trouba and if he will be on the roster when the season starts.
** NHLRumors.com transcriptions
Jay Onrait: “Emily, you know, you’re talking about Aaron Ekblad. And maybe that’s a bit of surprise to some people. I was even more surprised about the Jacob Trouba rumors out of New York. The stories last week that they even had a deal set to move into Detroit where he’s from, but he didn’t know want to do that. His wife is finishing up her residency. She’s a medical doctor. Do you feel like at this point Trouba is staying or should we keep our eyes out for a potential deal here sometime in the near future?”
Emily Kaplan: “If I had to put my money on it right now, my gut is he will be on the Rangers opening night roster, even though this was a really uncomfortable process over these last several days and weeks. GM Chris Drury really wants to be aggressive this offseason and shake up his roster.
And he did that with Barclay Goodrow, and that caught Barclay Goodrow way off guard, and the rest of the team noticed. He knew that if he was going to move Jacob Trouba, he explored doing it, he had to let his captain know, especially because it’s trade protection kick-in.
There was a deal in place with the Red Wings, I am told, and Jacob used the power he earned in his contract to block it, and that’s within his right. So unless something changes now in the next three months, where something makes sense for both the Rangers and one of the 15 teams on Jacob Trouba’s roster, he’s going to come back to this team and we’re gonna see what type of Captain he is.
And also how strong the leadership is for the New York Rangers because again, this was a really awkward and uncomfortable situation behind the scenes.”
Onrait: “Yes, awkward is definitely the word that comes to mind.”