What would the Wings have to trade for Jacob Trouba?

When the offseason began we looked at some possible RFA’s targets the Wings should keep their eye on this summer. Whether it was due to cap issues or roster openings, there were arguments to be made that maybe one of these young players could be snatched away from their respective teams. As Dumba, Barrie and Krug all locked up their contracts, one defenceman remained unsigned. That defenceman was Jacob Trouba and as per his agent, Kurt Overhardt, he has requested a trade out of Winnipeg and will not be attending training camp with the Jets this year. 

Trouba cited spending too much time on his off-side and lack of opportunitynity to meet his full potential as a top-four defenceman in Winnipeg. He was third on the team in ice-time behind Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers showcasing the backup on Winnipeg’s right side. While Trouba still needs to be signed by whichever team can acquire his rights, there’s no doubt there will be many suitors in the mix. How seriously though, should the Detroit Red Wings be in on the Trouba sweepstakes?

A top-pairing, right-handed defenceman has been atop of Detroit’s needs list for years now. Let alone someone who meets those requirements while also only being 22 years old, 6’3″ tall and 200+ pounds. Not to mention the fact he’s already been putting up top-pairing numbers in not only the western conference but the best division in hockey. 

Currently on the Wings roster, only Mike Green and Alexey Marchenko are right-handed shots and neither are top-pairing defenceman. There’s a strong argument that Detroit doesn’t have a single, undisputed top-pairing defenceman on the roster at all. Kronwall is falling off rapidly, Ericsson is on a contract no one else is going to take on until 2020, DeKeyser has been okay for the Wings but it’s not a stretch at all to say that they could desperately use Trouba in their lineup. 

Trouba himself being a Michigan born player would probably get him on the Wings radar regardless of his skill level. Normally, it’s an irritation for Wings fans, but in this rare case it serves them well. If we’ve learned anything though recently, returning home usually means more to the rumour mill than it does to the actual player. 

What will it cost and do they have it are the two biggest concerns for Wings fans. With the exception of Dylan Larkin, there’s really nothing on the roster that can’t be moved. Even if you want to argue Mrazek should be considered untouchable, it’s really a non-issue because the Jets are more than fine in goal down the line. 

The asking price appears to be something the Wings don’t have. The only two comparable players really seem to be Hampus Lindholm and Rasmus Ristolainen. If the Wings were to somehow pull this off, they’d be forced to be a little creative.

This trade is doubly tricky because Trouba still needs to be signed, so more work needs to be done upfront on this before anything goes through. Nothing will happen unless the team knows for sure what the contract needs to look like and that the player will play there. Here Detroit may have an advantage over some markets but there are other impediments. 

Cap space is going to be the most important factor here. The Red Wings are currently $4M+ dollars over the cap. Now, come opening day where Franzen and Vitale go on IR that would free up $5M but this means that roster players would absolutely need to go to make this deal happen. Now, this may play as an advantage for the Wings. 

The Jets did a quick re-shuffle and sort of built on the fly recently due to a tough division but things are starting to level out in the central and they’re close to competing especially after being gifted Patrik Laine in this years draft. This means though that they could certainly use some real NHL talent right now. 

While Arizona is heavily in the mix on Trouba and what they can offer prospect and pick wise may be unrivaled by most teams, if the Jets are looking for roster players then Arizona may not be able to (or may not want) to oblige. The fate of Nyquist and Tatar has been discussed for a while now in Detroit but they both seem like the most obvious answer here. 

The Jets most prevalent weakness is Drew Stafford being in that top-six. Everyone else belongs there but it does mean there’s potentially a slot for a Nyquist or Tatar. For a multitude of reasons though, the cost would likely be Nyquist. He’s under contract until 2019 at a reasonable $4.75M while Tatar is an RFA after this year. 

Not only is he a safer bet for the Jets, but Detroit would need that cap space off the books. On top of that, Nyquist has spent a lot of time in the middle over the years and would be an excellent option to take draws alongside Little on that second line as they shoot opposite ways. He can score but he also has tremendous play-making abilities that would be an asset to any power-play and getting the puck to a shooter like Patrik Laine. 

While they may be trending upwards with this build-on-the-fly, it seems pretty obvious the Jets will still be expecting a high pick out of this deal regardless. Nyquist and a 1st rounder seems like a pretty solid starting point but it will likely take more. Even if Detroit is on the decline, playing in the weak Atlantic division probably places the Wings in their usual mid-range drafting position. It’s not like they’re giving up a prime selection or even a top ten pick so maybe letting this one go wouldn’t be such a huge deal. 

Where the Wings might have some more leverage in this deal is the only other weak spot on that Jets roster and it’s at the left defence position. Detroit is practically nothing but left-handed defence at this point and it could offer some options for the Jets. As it stands now the Jets may be rushing last year’s first-round pick Josh Morrissey into the NHL. 

While the kid may be NHL size, many teams had him pegged as the first round being too early to take a chance on a player whose other skills need a lot of work. Offering Xavier Ouellet to sweeten the deal may appeal to the Jets. NHL ready, strong numbers in the AHL, and a much safer bet on that left-side than Morrissey is, it could help push the deal over the edge. But it doesn’t fully help the cap problem. A more realistic option would probably have to be a player like Brendan Smith though. Another left handed shooter, more NHL experience, good advanced stats and most importantly a bit of a cap hit. His $2.75M cap hit would free up then about $7.5M to get Trouba signed if he went with Nyquist but it leads to its own set of problems.

Is Winnipeg likely to take on $7.5M in cap space to make a Trouba trade? Probably not. It depends on where management thinks they are as a team. Especially when you know much sweeter offers of high calibre prospects (read: cheap) and picks are going to be coming their way, they might be more interested in delaying another year and not seeing NHL roster players as a necessary return. At the same time though they have no big players to sign next season, they could potentially have Stafford and Pavelec off the books by then and maybe they think getting some of these guys in right now would benefit the younger players on the roster. 

Yes, and in a variety of ways. The Wings would likely lose Nyquist or Tatar, two top end talents. They’d lose a high pick and if it doesn’t cost them another roster player, it will certainly cost a high-end prospect. If it’s true that the trade request took place in May then you know teams have already been trying for a while. It means original offers were not good enough and it’s time for teams to pay up and fight it out between one another. 

This though is a player that doesn’t pop up too often. His offensive ceiling is high, he’s already showed promise in a top-pair role, and he’s poised to drastically improve this blue line immediately. This is at the cost of a potential 30-goal scorer and pieces of the future. The fact that Trouba is already so far along for his age is the only reason the Wings should even be considering this trade. It may look like a step back right now, but long-term this is a viable option. But that there is the other hidden cost in all of this. Are the Wings ready to potentially sacrifice the streak for a shot at this player? History says no but one could only hope all the talk of change was more than just putting season ticket holders at ease. 

This one has the potentially to resolve itself quickly now that it is fully public. Hopefully the Wings can stay in the mix on this one and make something come to fruition and improve a back end in serious need.