Opinion: New Ducks Defenseman Trouba Shouldn't Get Comfortable, As Another Trade May Still Be Coming
Former Rangers D-man Jacob Trouba is now an Anaheim Duck, but Adam Proteau says the Ducks may trade Trouba to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender sooner than later.
After being at the center of a media storm in recent days, new Anaheim Ducks defenseman and former New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba spoke out Friday night, and he sounded like someone who welcomes the opportunity to get out of a hockey fishbowl in New York City and be an impact player on a Ducks team still trying to find its way. Trouba said all the right things about being in Anaheim, and if you believe him, you'll believe the Ducks were an ideal spot for him.
"I think they have a great opportunity the next couple of years," Trouba said of the Ducks. "It's kind of a similar situation to when I came to New York — really good, young players that are ready to take the next step. If there's something I can do to help contribute to that, I think that's my goal."
That’s all well and good to hear from Trouba, but we believe Trouba shouldn’t get all that comfortable in Anaheim, because another trade may be in Trouba’s future – either by or before this season’s March 7 trade deadline, or in the off-season. But given that Trouba’s $8 million per-season salary (financial data via Puck Pedia) has another year left on it, it could take some creativity on the part of Ducks GM Pat Verbeek to find a new home for Trouba.
If the Ducks do retain salary in another Trouba trade, acquiring Trouba will be much more palatable for potential trade partners. A Stanley Cup contender will be a more desirable home for Trouba than Anaheim is going to be, both for the rest of this season and next. And although the warm confines of California and the media-thin market in Anaheim probably factored into Trouba’s decision to be shipped to the Ducks, he could still be dealt to a hockey hotbed that wants him to be a depth D-man in the hope of a lengthy playoff run.
Some might argue the Ducks aren’t that far off from being a Cup contender. But for this writer, that’s a sizeable stretch. Anaheim doesn’t have sufficient depth up front, and even with Trouba coming on board, the Ducks’ defense corps is not one of the better ones in the league. For that reason, Trouba is likely to come in not as a savior, but as a temporary resident in Anaheim.
Maybe Trouba welcomes a deal that sends him to Detroit this coming summer Maybe Trouba okays a trade that makes him a Los Angeles King or a Buffalo Sabre. But regardless of which team it is that steps up and acquires him, it clearly feels like Trouba is a transitory asset in Anaheim. His legacy in Manhattan is more about the cap space he’s leaving behind, and that’s a shame, as Trouba did have an impact as the Blueshirts’ captain.
Trouba now can escape the day-to-day drama that plagued him throughout the latter part of his stint as a Ranger. But we suspect it won’t be all that long before he’s an ex-Duck. He still has value – not anywhere close to his cap hit value, of course – but if Anaheim retains a good deal of his salary, he can be a one-year rental whose expiring cap space may be the biggest value he has to offer.
Trouba has been through the eye of the storm in New York, and although he now gets a bit of a break from that pressure, it says here it won’t be long before Trouba is playing meaningful hockey for a different franchise. He's not going to lead the Ducks to glory, but he could still have an impact on a bona fide Cup contender.
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