The New York Rangers tried to find a trade partner to move defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba ahead of free agency but they failed to do so.
Reports emerged during the draft speaking about a trade being “in the works” between the Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings to send Trouba to his home state, but ultimately no trade was completed.
Emily Kaplan of ESPN revealed on July 9 that Trouba blocked that trade from happening by including Detroit in his 15-team, no-trade list, thus vetoing his move to the Red Wings.
“There was a deal in place with the Red Wings, I am told, and Jacob used the power he earned in his contract to block it, and that’s within his right,” Kaplan said while appearing on TSN’s Jain Onrait show.
“So unless something changes now in the next three months, where something makes sense for both the Rangers and one of the 15 teams on Jacob Trouba’s roster, he’s going to come back to this team and we’re going to see what type of captain he is and also how strong the leadership is for the New York Rangers because this was a really awkward and uncomfortable situation behind the scenes.”
Trouba scored 3 goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 69 regular-season games in 2024.
His performance in the playoffs, however, was subpar and the team has decided to move on from him.