He made those comments back when the vibes were good. Since then he saw the team go through a rough season where the coach and GM are now gone and the new GM is looking to shake up the roster with some big moves. He would likely prefer to be on some team where he has a chance to play regularly and that the expectations for team success aren't so intense.
But you shouldn't pay 8 million for an agitator. Trouba hasn't played like a top-4 d-man for a couple years now.
Trouba only has 2 seasons left at that cap hit. Depending on what the Rangers are willing to retain in salary/cap I think he could be a good target.
Adding Tanev and a half price Trouba would be huge for this D core.
Imagine getting Trouba and somehow signing Zadorov and then having Kleven make the team.
They'd be tough. The problem is none of those guys are top 4 d-men at this point in time.
Do you think that’s how he will be treated? A 7th dman on paper who’s actually 9th?
Unless we keep/extend Chychrun and trade Chabot instead which would save us 3.4M this year (with adding a 4M Trouba) and likely a bit on the extension as well.
Zadorov has shown some flashes of being a quality 2nd pairing guy so he could take a step forward. A lot would depend on the further growth of Sanderson and whether Chabot can regain form.
Paying 8 million for what should be a 3rd pairing d-man isn't moving in the right direction. Are people convinced he's good defensively because he's big and physical?
I said at half price 4M, I definitely don't want him at 8M.
