New York Rangers: Trade for Trouba is a fleecing on Jeff Gorton’s part

As the 2019 NHL offseason heats up, the New York Rangers acquired their long-time d-man trade target, Jacob Trouba, for a rather low price.

The New York Rangers have already made the biggest offseason splash in the NHL, and we haven’t even reached the draft yet. Jacob Trouba is now a Ranger in exchange for Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in the draft. A name that has swarmed the streets for some time, Trouba is a top pairing 25-year-old scoring defenseman.

He tallied 50 points last season, ranking him at 13th among all NHL defenseman. He signed a one-year deal last summer and was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1. The Jets have their hands full trying to keep their core intact. Also, negotiations with their 6’3” right-handed d-man for a long-term extension were unlikely. If he were to sign, it would have probably been a one-year deal type situation that would carry him to unrestricted free agency next season.

This is an impressive power move for Jeff Gorton. Considering San Jose pulled Erik Karlsson from the market by resigning him Sunday, and the Devils and Islanders were both aggressively pursuing Trouba, Gorton managed to waste no time and paid less than he could have. The advantage the Rangers had over those teams? The #20 pick that Winnipeg gave away at the deadline in exchange for a Kevin Hayes rental.

I’m sure they wanted it back immediately after a first round boot and the subsequent trade of Hayes’ rights to Philadelphia for a 5th rounder. This officially deeming the deadline deal as a fat “L.” With the second overall pick and some second and third rounders, the Rangers could certainly afford to trade the pick back, especially for the elite return of Trouba.

The question was, what was the package that was going to go along with it? I had thought that to raise their eyebrows, it would take dealing #20 and a solid roster player – perhaps a youngster with a ceiling along with an “A-B” prospect. Many rumored this player would have to be a Pavel Buchnevich or Lias Andersson packaged with a prospect, such as Nils Lundkvist.

However, no, the Jets settled for Pionk, who despite a solid showing towards the end of 2017-18, was incredibly erratic last year. No conditions, additional picks, or cash attached either. Yes, Pionk is only 23. However, he is far from a reliable penalty killer or someone you can rely on to be a shutdown role. He could score but became streaky, and his defensive shortcoming was, therefore, more glaring.

I liked Pionk and feel he has much room to grow. However, with the opportunity to upgrade to a top-pair point producer, I will not lose a minute of sleep on Pionk’s departure. So, essentially the Rangers traded two months of Kevin Hayes‘ services and Pionk for Brendan Lemieux and Trouba. Not even an argument here. You could even isolate this deal from the deadline one and argue it is Pionk for Trouba straight up. Also that, my friends, is larceny.

Winnipeg had their hands tied, and Gorton capitalized. We knew that between Kevin Shattenkirk and Pionk (both right-handed), one was gone by training camp. Unless Gorton gets an offer he can’t refuse on Shattenkirk, I would think he will remain a Ranger right now.

As for Marc Staal and Brendan Smith, at least one should end up bought out of their contracts pretty so. I don’t think either warrant a top-six role anymore anyway. As far as the defensive landscape, things are all the sudden looking pretty hopeful. I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of Skjei-Trouba, Shattenkirk-DeAngelo, and Hajek-Fox.

Now, with Kaapo Kakko almost indefinitely becoming a Ranger Friday, I’d say this is a pretty good week to be a Ranger fan.