Jacob Trouba has signed a multi-year contract with the New York Rangers that will keep the defenseman on Broadway for seven years.
According to reports, the New York Rangers and defenseman Jacob Trouba have agreed to terms on a seven-year, $56 million contract. Trouba was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets on June 17th in exchange for defenseman Neal Pionk and a first-round draft choice. The contract includes a no-movement clause according to CapFriendly.
Trouba was a restricted free agent who had filed for salary arbitration with a hearing scheduled for July 25th. The Rangers avoided arbitration by coming to terms with Trouba on a long term deal prior to the hearing. The 25-year-old right shot defenseman scored eight goals and a career-high 50 points in 82 games this past season with Winnipeg. He registered the 13th highest point total among defensemen in the NHL last season
The 6’3” two hundred pounder was originally drafted 9th overall by Winnipeg in the 2012 NHL Draft and has scored 179 points in 408 NHL games. Trouba projects to be a top blue line pair for the Rangers this season and is slated to play with Brady Skjei as well as Rangers number one power play unit. He is a multitalented defender who not only contributes offensively but also registered 171 blocked shots which was ranked the sixth highest in the league last season.
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Trouba is a workhorse averaging nearly 23 minutes per game and led the Jets last year in total ice time with 1,876 minutes and total minutes shorthanded with 202. He has a plus-37 rating in his six NHL seasons and has had a plus/minus rating of even or better in every season of his NHL career.
The signing puts the Rangers over the salary cap by $906,466 with restricted free agents Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemieux and Anthony DeAngelo remaining to be signed.
By exceeding the salary cap, the Rangers can utilize the secondary buyout window over the next 72 hours to comply with the NHL salary cap ceiling. It is expected that Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton will be busy over the next few days with Buchnevich’s arbitration hearing scheduled for July 29th.
Trouba adds even more excitement to a Rangers team that is ready to bounce back this upcoming season. The Rangers wisely added more to their defense and will likely reap the benefits during the first few years of Trouba’s presence on the ice.