In 2012 the Winnipeg Jets selected Jacob Trouba ninth overall at the NHL Draft. One year later they picked Josh Morrissey at 13th overall. In back-to-back years the team selected two defensemen that looked like they could headline the team’s blue line for years to come, crucial additions to the team’s future contending core. For a few seasons that looked to be the case as both players emerged as legitimate top pairing options, but everything changed when the dynamic duo anchoring Winnipeg’s shutdown pair was split apart last summer.



I’m alluding of course to the Trouba trade last summer that sent him to the Rangers in exchange for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick, a move that drastically altered the fabric of the team’s defense (on top of also losing Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot and just a year removed from losing Tobias Enstrom).



At the time, it looked like both players could be legitimate No. 1 defensemen in...