Report: Red Wings Working on Deal for Rangers Defenseman

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Red Wings may be on the brink of using up the cap space they freed by shipping Jake Walman off to San Jose.

“Indeed, a well-placed source has told The Post that GM Chris Drury is working on a deal to send [defenseman Jacob Trouba] to the Red Wings, a trade that the Michigan native would presumably accept after having played as a freshman for the Wolverines in 2012-13," Brooks writes.

Apr 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba (8) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals during the first period in game two of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden © Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

“We are told the Rangers may retain $2.5 million per year on the two remaining seasons of Trouba’s $8M annual cap charge," he continued.. That represents 31.25 percent retention that would also be applied to the $12M in salary Trouba has coming over the next two seasons.”

Trouba—who was born in Rochester, MI and played for Compuware then the NTDP and then the University of Michigan—was traded to New York in June 2019, after electing not to sign a long-term deal to remain in Winnipeg (who had selected him ninth overall in the 2012 Draft).  He was named the Rangers captain ahead of the 2022-23 season.

After New York's playoff run fell short against the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, Trouba became something of a scapegoat for many Rangers fans, perceived as having played recklessly and poorly against the voracious Panther forecheck.  There might be some truth to those allegations, but there was not a New York defenseman who covered themselves in glory in that Florida series.

Trouba is a physical, crease-clearing type of defenseman, who is capable of managing a tight gap (though at times this did become a challenge in that Panther series).  He won't score much (in five seasons in New York, he topped out at 39 points), but he could contribute to the Red Wings' desire to tighten up defensively at the right price.

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