Winnipeg Jets D Jacob Trouba Made a Trade Request: 5 Hypothetical Trade Scenarios for the 22-Year-Old Defenseman

Winnipeg Jets D Jacob Trouba sent shockwaves through the hockey world on Saturday night when his agent, Kurt Overhardt, released a public statement stating his client has requested a trade.

Trouba, 22, is looking for an opportunity to play on his proper right side in a better situation. As it stands, Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers occupy the right, forcing Trouba to play the left as a RH shot. This might help explain why the Jets young defender remains a restricted free agent still without a contract.

Trade rumors have long been swirling around Winnipeg Jets D Jacob Trouba. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has already made it clear however that any moves will be made in the best interest of the team. This is a typical management tactic to help preserve the value of a player. Other GMs sense weakness in these scenarios (i.e. Edmonton’s need for a RH shot – Larsson for Hall), so Winnipeg’s GM is simply saying “we’re not giving this stud blue liner away for nothing”.

A similar situation arose in 2015-16 with the New York Islanders and Travis Hamonic. The Isles couldn’t find a good enough deal, and fortunately, it all worked out in the end as Hamonic was able to rescind his trade request.

Early speculation is suggesting Winnipeg would need another quality young defenseman in return. It would certainly be ideal, but not mandatory. These “experts” that make these claims often know little about what’s in the pipeline and who is ready to emerge and contribute. Jets prospect Josh Morrissey is on the verge of being a full-time NHL defender and he has the potential to log top four minutes. So, no, a young d-man isn’t a requirement in return, but if not that, a deal should include a player who can handle decent minutes on the back end until Morrissey can make that transition.

The Jets are actually in a very advantageous position here with Trouba. They’re absolutely loaded with depth at all three positions (forward, defense, goalie). That means there’s no major pressing need in a return package. Kevin Cheveldayoff can have a very open-minded approach to adding pieces that can help make this franchise a Western Conference juggernaut year after year.

It might be a difficult task but Winnipeg’s GM must also attempt to package Jacob Trouba with netminder Ondrej Pavelec. The fact is, Connor Hellebuyck gives this team the best chance to win on a nightly basis and it makes little sense to force him to play in AHL Manitoba any longer.

Let’s explore five potential trade scenarios for Winnipeg Jets D Jacob Trouba:

Trouba Trade Scenarios

Winnipeg Jets trade D Jacob Trouba and F Drew Stafford to Dallas Stars in exchange for D Patrik Nemeth, F Radek Faksa, F Devin Shore, and 2017 1st round pick

Think of Stafford as a throw in to help with Dallas’ Stanley Cup quest (he becomes a UFA next summer). Nemeth can help replace some of those minutes lost from Trouba, Faksa came on strong in the second half/into the playoffs, and Devin Shore is one of the more underrated prospects in the game. He was leading the AHL in scoring producing above a point-per-game rate in 2015-16 before going down with a season-ending injury.

Winnipeg Jets trade D Jacob Trouba to Detroit Red Wings in exchange for F Tomas Tatar and D Brendan Smith

The Red Wings are missing a true right-handed shot behind Mike Green on the depth chart. Instead, they plug away LH shots on the wrong side.

Given how this team struggled defensively in the playoffs last year, coupled with their immense depth up front, a deal to acquire a quality defender such as Trouba makes perfect sense.

It doesn’t have to be Tomas Tatar. You could include Anthony Mantha, Gustav Nyquist, and so on; there are several options in this scenario.

Winnipeg Jets trade D Jacob Trouba to Los Angeles Kings in exchange for D Brayden McNabb, F Tanner Pearson, F Michael Mersch, and 2017 1st round pick

It should come as no surprise that Los Angeles has struggled ever since they lost a top four RH shot a couple of seasons ago (Slava Voynov). Adding Jacob Trouba would go a long way to helping get this franchise back on track to win another Stanley Cup championship.

Jets fans might not like the return on this one at first glance. It’s worth noting McNabb can log big minutes on the blue line, Pearson has a history with Mark Scheifele from their junior days in Barrie, and Mersch continues to show vast improvement at the pro level.

Winnipeg Jets trade D Jacob Trouba to Montreal Canadiens in exchange for D Nathan Beaulieu, F Nikita Scherbak, and F Jacob de La Rose

For those who feel it’s necessary for Winnipeg to acquire another young defender, here’s one of the few situations that might work.

If Marc Bergevin would be comfortable sacrificing a pair of high-quality prospects, a deal could be had.

Winnipeg Jets trade D Jacob Trouba to San Jose Sharks in exchange for D Brenden Dillon, F Tomas Hertl, and F Nikolay Goldobin

There’s a ton of money invested on the Sharks blue line, but it still ranks as one of the mediocre defensive groups in the NHL. Sure, David Schlemko will help, but there’s a serious drop-off after the top pairing of Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Now that San Jose has signed Mikkel Boedker and have top prospect Timo Meier vying for an NHL spot, GM Doug Wilson can afford to trade a quality player to address a greater need.