Jacob Trouba’s Time with the New York Rangers is Over

As Full Press Hockey reported earlier in the week, something would happen this week. The Rangers had four days off after their loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.

As Full Press Hockey reported in the summer, following the denied trade at the 2024 NHL Draft to the Detroit Red Wings as Trouba exercised his no-trade close, the suggestion of waivers was a real possibility with him. Now, it could be a real possibility. Per PuckPedia.com, Trouba can go to the AHL and play down in Hartford, similar to what the Rangers did with Wade Redden.

General Manager Chris Drury hopes a team will pick up his $8 million salary cap hit. This is similar to the San Jose Sharks picking up Barclay Goodrow when the Rangers put him on waivers to get out of his $4 million salary cap hit.

As Marco D’Amico of RGMedia points out, only eight teams can take on the full cap hit. A few teams could claim him, but they would have to do cap gymnastics to work.

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The Rangers then circumvented Goodrow’s no-trade clause by putting him on waivers, and they will try to do the same if a trade cannot be completed.

As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet points out, there has been precedent for a player refusing a trade and the team putting him on waivers.

“This is absolute hardball, but there is a precedent. In November 2005, Todd Marchant refused to waive his no-trade from Columbus to Anaheim as part of the Sergei Fedorov deal. So the Blue Jackets waived him, and the Ducks made the claim to “complete” the transaction.”

Where Could Jacob Trouba Go

Trouba, like Chris Kreider, has a 15-team no-trade list. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Emily Kaplan of ESPN, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators are teams discussing Trouba with the Rangers. Darren Dreger reported that the Anaheim Ducks are also interested and said, “Ottawa and New York have not had trade discussions.”

In addition, Bruce Garrioch of PostMedia confirmed by Murray Pam of Full Press Hockey that the Brady Tkachuk to Rangers rumors are untrue.

Anaheim and the Rangers were talking last year at the NHL Trade Deadline so that these teams could revisit that. Recall that the Rangers were looking to get Frank Vatrano last year as their top-line right winger. They could revisit this season. Not to mention Trouba might have to waive his NTC to go to either Anaheim or Columbus.

Trouba and Rangers Have Too Many Distractions

Trouba knew this day was coming from the start of the season, and it has caused a distraction in the room, along with the rumours of Igor Shesterkin and his contract demands. Not to mention the trade rumors surrounding Ryan Lindgren, Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and Kreider.

The locker room has been in discourse since the summer, as well as the comments from Trouba at the beginning of the season. It is affecting their play. This was one of the cards he could pull from his deck of cards, putting Trouba on waivers. There is a good chance this could happen.

Again, Jacob Trouba can still be traded before a team claims him. But the first domino has fallen with the New York Rangers, and change is coming.