Rangers Acquire Trouba from Jets

The New York Rangers traded Neal Pionk and the No.20 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft to the Winnipeg Jets for Jacob Trouba on Monday night.

It has long been rumored that Trouba was likely going to be moved this offseason, especially with restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor in need of new contracts. Unlike most teams, the Jets had a plethora of top-end defenseman and can stomach moving on from a first-pairing defenseman like Trouba. Trading him also means that they should be able to lock-up unrestricted free agent Tyler Myers to shore up the right-side behind Dustin Byfuglien.

Despite the need to trade Trouba, the return was rather disappointing for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. Pionk is also a restricted free agent on July 1st but is an underwhelming defenseman. Despite putting up solid offensive numbers (6G, 20A in 73 games) he carried a paltry -3.5 relative CorsiFor% and was among the leagues worst in terms of ExpectedGoalsAgainst/60—150th/176.

The No.20 overall pick helps, but it’s simply the Jets getting their own pick back. The No.20 pick was originally traded from Winnipeg to New York as a part of the Kevin Hayes deal at the Trade Deadline. The trade can almost be looked at as Trouba and Brendan Lemieux for Pionk and a two month rental of Hayes. I’d say that’s a decisive advantage for New York. However, it is worth noting that Winnipeg has since traded Hayes to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2019 fifth-round pick.

Trouba now gives the Rangers a clear No.1 defenseman and a player who can eat-up 25-plus minutes per game. He maxed out at 22:53 TOI/GM last season but that was on a blueline that was loaded with talent. Trouba is coming off of a career year, scoring eight goals with 42 assists (50 points) while appearing in all 82 games. The one question is: Can Trouba be as effective without Josh Morrissey? New York definitely does not have a Morrissey on their roster right now, so is Trouba capable of carrying the load himself? Let’s take a look at his underlying numbers with and without Morrissey over the last two seasons:

It shouldn’t be surprising that Trouba’s numbers take a hit away from Morrissey but the fact that they drop off so drastically is a bit concerning.

All-in-all, this is a huge win for Rangers GM Jeff Gorton and accelerates their rebuild. The Rangers were also huge winners during the NHL Draft Lottery and will select either Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko on June 21st. One of those players is expected to jump into their lineup right away and adding both a dynamic forward and top-pairing defenseman could be enough to help push the Rangers back into the postseason next year.

2019-20 Fantasy Hockey Projections