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Trade rumors surfaced about New York
Rangers captain Jacob Trouba before his team was eliminated
from the Eastern Conference Final last month. The chatter increased
during the 2024 NHL draft as the New York Post‘s Larry Brooks
reported the Rangers were attempting to trade the 30-year-old
defenseman to the Detroit Red Wings.
According to Brooks, Rangers general
manager Chris Drury attempted to free up salary-cap space before
the free-agent market opened on July 1. The Blueshirts were willing
to retain $2.5 million of Trouba’s $8 million annual salary cap hit
to facilitate the deal.
Complications surfaced as The
Athletic’s Arthur Staple reported the Rangers asked Trouba for his
list of 15 no-trade destinations a week before his no-movement
clause changed to a modified no-trade clause on July 1. Staple
followed up on July 2 reporting Trouba waiting until the morning of
July 1 to do so, affecting some of Drury’s plans for free agency.
Brooks added that the three-year
hospital residency of Trouba’s wife, Dr. Kelly Tyson-Trouba, also
complicated matters. Her residency was originally slated to end by July 1 but was deferred by a year. His colleague Mollie Walker
speculates any additional efforts to reshape the roster might not
happen this summer.
Buy or Sell: Buy on the attempt to
trade, sell on it happening.
By all accounts,
the Rangers made a genuine attempt to trade Trouba to Detroit. Given
how everything’s played out, it seems unlikely that the deal will occur. The Red Wings have made several forays into free agency and
will use their remaining cap space to re-sign their restricted free
agents Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Joe Veleno.
