Report: Jets shopping Trouba
Right-handed defensemen with size and offensive upside in their mid-20s are rarely made available for trade, but Jacob Trouba appears to be an exception.
The Winnipeg Jets have engaged in trade talks with multiple teams about the restricted free agent blue-liner, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
Trouba is coming off a breakout 50-point season in 2018-19. The 25-year-old logged nearly 23 minutes per game while racking up 171 blocked shots, 112 hits, and a career-high 48 takeaways.
Trouba's camp and the Jets have never seen eye to eye in contract negotiations, which could lead to the end of his tenure in Winnipeg.
After his entry-level contract expired prior to the 2016-17 campaign, Trouba didn't sign his next pact until over a month into the season, agreeing to a two-year bridge deal. Once that expired, he and the Jets needed arbitration to settle on a one-year, $5.5-million deal this past summer. The two sides were reportedly $3 million apart before the hearing.
The Jets hold a projected $25.4 million in cap space, but RFA forwards Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor are due for significant raises. Andrew Copp, Nathan Beaulieu, and Joe Morrow round out the team's list of RFAs. Winnipeg also faces a glut of pending UFAs, including forwards Brandon Tanev and Kevin Hayes, and defensemen Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot.
Dustin Byfuglien and Tucker Poolman are the Jets' only right-handed shooting defensemen under contract for next season.