We are now officially into the second week of the season, and Jacob Trouba has yet to play a game for the Winnipeg Jets.

“Some people have said that Trouba should just go there and play until the time comes,” noted Sportsnet hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman during a Wednesday evening appearance on NHL Network. “I had heard that during the summer the Jets asked Trouba and the agent for a number, and said, ‘What will it take to get you to sign.’

“They said, ‘This is not about a number. This is going somewhere else so we can play the right side.’

“So I don’t even think that’s necessarily possible (for Trouba to play for the Jets until a trade transpires).

“I think we’re at a time now – look, there’s a lot of interest. The Jets’ ask is very high. I think it’s going to come down to when the Jets feel they’re comfortable to make the move if they get what they want. One of the things about Winnipeg is Kevin Cheveldayoff has shown over time that he will wait. Evander Kane, for years he wanted to go out of Winnipeg and they didn’t trade him until they got the deal they wanted. That’s what they’re going to do here again.

“I’m of the belief that you reach a point where you’ve just got to move on. I think the Jets aren’t at that point yet, and we’re waiting for them to get there.”

Dreger: Pressure point for Trouba and Jets will be mid-November

Where do the two sides stand right now?

“Right now, nowhere,” asserted TSN Insider Bob McKenzie while on NBCSN Wednesday evening. “I guess what people really want to know is are teams like the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins that would have an interest in a right-hand shot defenseman like Jacob Trouba – are they any closer to getting a deal done? And the answer is no.

“Because Winnipeg continues to ask for a very specific requirement. That is, they want a Jacob Trouba-type player who shoots left. Same age and potential. The Rangers, Bruins, Red Wings – they don’t have that player. So as much interest as there is in Trouba around the league, it’s very muted right now because this is an organization in Winnipeg that wants something very specific in return.

“Now, if Winnipeg keeps losing hockey games without Jacob Trouba in the lineup, maybe it turns the heat up on them to consider other options. If Jacob Trouba, sitting at home in Ann Arbor, realizes, ‘Hey, I’m not getting paid and there’s not a trade going to happen anytime soon…’

“December 1 is the drop-dead date for this. That’s when a restricted free agent must be signed, by that date, or he can’t play this season in the NHL. So there is a hard deadline, but it’s not for anytime soon.

“I get the sense – just a sense – that Winnipeg would still like to re-open the door for Trouba to come back and do a long-term deal there.”

Side note: If you missed the highlights of Wednesday night’s Jets-Leafs game, take a few minutes to check them out. Patrik Laine had a pair of third period goals and then netted the overtime winner, helping Winnipeg overcome a 4-0 second period deficit to pull that contest out. McKenzie’s hit was very early in the evening, before that clash was anywhere near done.

On the Trouba front, it’s worth pointing out again that while Kevin Cheveldayoff continues to say nothing to the media, he did at least subtly allude to many trade conversations having taken place:

“We’ve said and we’re going to be consistent from the beginning that I’m really not going to comment on this situation with regards to where it’s at or where it could go,” reiterated the general manager Wednesday afternoon while on Sportsnet 590. “We’re going to do what’s right for the organization, and rest assured – there’s been lots of work on this.”

Source: NHL Network, NBCSN, Sportsnet 590

For reference: Covering the Insiders