The New York Rangers “enjoyed” a weekend full of rumors about Jacob Trouba’s trade to the Detroit Red Wings. Now, they have made a final decision on Trouba’s future, but nothing has happened yet.
According to “two people with knowledge of the situation” speaking to Vince Mercogliano of USA Today on July 1, Trouba is “not pleased with the way this has gone down” and he “does not want to move his family.”
One of Mercogliano’s sources added that “it will require ‘a major cleanup’ to mend fences if the captain sticks around.”
Trouba’s settling in Manhattan could present a hurdle to the Rangers’ brass when attempting to move him elsewhere as he doesn’t want to leave New York.
“(Trouba’s) wife, Kelly, has a medical career in New York and their first child, Axel, arrived in January,” Mercogliano reported. “The belief is that [Rangers general manager Chris] Drury wants to rip the band-aid off, which may leave Trouba resigned to accept his fate. Regardless of how it turns out, the state of the locker room is a concern.”
Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported similar reasons for Trouba’s blocking a move from New York.
“When Trouba signed in 2019, his no-movement clause was designed to expire in conjunction with his wife Kelly Tyson-Trouba’s completion of her three-year residency at a New York hospital,” Brooks reported. “But the residency was deferred for a year so that the program which she is required to complete will end instead on July 1, 2025. The Troubas also welcomed their first child.
“There is no guarantee that Trouba would accept a trade even to a club on his approved list if that means leaving his wife and nine-month-old (as of training camp) behind.”
Rangers GM Chris Drury Breaks Silence on Trouba’s Rumors
After a relatively quiet start to the offseason in New York in which the Rangers only signed one player and traded for another, GM Drury spoke to reporters on an evening conference call, per Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the team in different areas that we talk about, but we’re happy with the moves we were able to make today,” Drury said.
Those two improvements came in the shape of the acquisitions of former Edmonton Oilers free-agent Sam Carrick and former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Reilly Smith.
The Rangers signed Carrick to a three-year, $3 million contract with a cap hit of $1 million per season, and traded two draft picks to Pittsburgh in exchange for Rilley.
By the end of July 1, and at the time of this writing on July 2 morning, Trouba is still a member of the Rangers.
“Jacob knows what I think of him as a person and a player, and I’m going to keep any private conversation with him or his agent private,” Drury said. “We’re always looking to move the team forward and be the best team we possibly can be. I’m not going to go through player by player who’s going to be here, who’s not going to be here. We’re just trying to do the best we can in the offseason and put our best foot forward come training camp.”
Trouba scored 3 goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 69 games in 2024. His performance, however, has declined over the past two seasons. That has raised concerns about his future contributions to the team and whether or not the franchise would be better off him.
Rangers Cap Status With & Without Jacob Trouba
After the first day of free agency, the Rangers sit pretty in cap space with $8.9 million still available to sign four players and fill the 23-man quota.
Trouba’s $8 million average annual value (AAV) contract is not a necessity with most top-dollar free agents already off the board following the July 1 action.
However, having Trouba’s salary on the books for the 2025-26 season, the final year of his contract could be a significant challenge, because of the pending business in New York regarding their players.
Former No. 2 and No. 1 overall picks Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere will become restricted free agents in July 2025 needing extensions. The same will happen with defenseman K’Andre Miller, who the Rangers should also re-sign at some point.
Moreover, New York will need to sign goaltender Igor Shesterking to a market-setting new deal once both sides reach an agreement, if reports are correct.
According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, “There’s reason to believe that Shesterkin’s camp is aiming for as high as $12 million a year, which would be an NHL record-setting cap hit for a goaltender.”
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