Report: New York Rangers Still In On Jacob Trouba

Hockey is back! Yay! That also means Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts are back! Yay!

From this week’s column, the New York Rangers are named as one of the team still in on Jacob Trouba.

4. Who’s in on Jacob Trouba? As best as I can tell, the list includes Arizona, Buffalo, Boston, Colorado, Detroit and the Rangers. This is purely a guess, but I could see Dallas and Tampa lurking. No idea how the Lightning could do it but Stars GM Jim Nill is always looking to upgrade his blue line. I’d thought Montreal but a couple of sources doubted it. Florida was trying before the draft but its moves afterward likely eliminate the possibility. The asks have been high. It wouldn’t surprise me, for example, if the Jets asked Buffalo for Rasmus Ristolainen, a right-hand shot who has played the left side. Apparently, some of those teams have been told they don’t have enough, which has led to them trying to involve third parties.

The latter half of this note is the important part. The Winnipeg Jets are still standing pat on their demands, despite the fact that they don’t have as much leverage as they want.

Friedman goes on to note Trouba refused to talk numbers with the Jets if their defensive ideologies remained the same, so it does seem as though the two sides are going to part ways one way or another.

I discussed what I thought the Rangers could do to get Trouba. I still stand by both of those offers — even if Brady Skjei has had a rough preseason. The Rangers probably aren’t thrilled with what they saw from their entire defensive corps, either, so it might force them to get a little more flexible in terms of what they’re willing to part with.

Thoughts on this, guys?