Leaking their plans this morning, is more than likely the Rangers trying to force his hand, into accepting a trade they have in place.
If it’s not, it means they’ve found no takers for his $8 million deal, and are just throwing it out there. Where he will likely clear, and now they’ve got the possibility of a locker room issue. At the very least, it’s a situation they don’t want to address everyday, until it’s resolved. Especially when things aren’t going great to begin with.
So if they’re trying to flex their muscles and let him know he doesn’t hold all the cards, it could backfire, in the form of a locker room issue.
Bad team just aren’t in the business of paying an extra $8 million this season (and next) to keep being bad. If a team has $8 million available, it’s likely their internal budget. So he’ll likely clear if this isn’t trade related. It’s not June, where teams have budget money to spend still.
Next problem is, if he does get claimed, like it or not, it’s gonna cost them a pretty penny in draft and/or prospect capital, to find a replacement. Assuming they’re serious at making a deep run. They will have received nothing for an $8 million player, to help ease the cost of replacing him.
Yes, he has his flaws, but they are still a better team with Jacob Trouba. So unless they have a deal for someone like Rasmus Andersson in their back pocket, not sure how this makes them any better. He’s still an imposing player at times, and if he plays a supporting role, he can be a force still. Unfortunately in NY, they’re still asking him to play a role more suited to his salary.. This isn’t an addition by subtraction situation. They’ll need a replacement if they’re serious about winning a Cup.
The good thing for Trouba is, if they are trying to force a trade, he’ll know what team that is, and can look at the waiver order and decide if he wants to take the chance he ends up in a much worse situation. He’ll know that’s likely where he’s going, or he could end up with one of the 8-10 teams below them could make his season a nightmare.
If he is claimed tomorrow, I also wouldn’t get too excited if I was a Rangers fan, thinking they suddenly have $8 million to play with. Within minutes, they’ll also likely announce they’ve acquired someone like Andrew Copp or JT Compher.
This could get real juicy though, and that’s always fun for fans. The NHLPA can’t be happy with this news, and players around the league, have to be thinking to themselves, why sign in NY? Not only did they pull this with Trouba, but Goodrow back in the summer. It just doesn’t look good from a player’s perspective. You’d be a fool not to think about what they’ve done to two players now, who both had protection, if you’re thinking about signing a deal with Drury.
As for Trouba, he’s done everything not to leave the Rangers. The funny part is, he’s not against going to Detroit from what I understand. He just knew they were interested, doesn’t want to leave NY and put them and 2-3 other likely destinations, on his NTC.
Problem is, Drury and the Rangers don’t seem to care very much what Trouba wants, if they’re willing to go this route.
Good bet, he agrees to be traded this morning. If he’s not, then they probably are just randomly throwing him on waivers, with all kinds of hope, someone claims him.
He’ll likely agree if it’s a forced trade though. You definitely don’t want to be walking into a new locker room, and everyone in there knows, you went to great lengths, to not be there. You put on that good soldier cap, and accept the Rangers were able to screw you.
