As the first player to go to arbitration this summer, Jacob Trouba is also the first player to be awarded his arbitration contract. It is a one year contract at the request of the Winnipeg Jets. Trouba will be a restricted free agent again next summer and the Jets will have one more shot to sign him to a long-term contract before he hits unrestricted free agency in two years.
Trouba has been awarded a 1 year, $5.5M contract.
WPG has 48 hrs to accept it (which they almost certainly will) or walk away, rendering him UFA.
1 year left to find the long term deal they couldn't sort out this summer and the spectre of a Trouba trade begins now.
— Murat (@WPGMurat) July 22, 2018
This award is right down the middle and probably correct for a short-term contract. Any long-term contract will have a higher cap hit then a short-term deal.
At the moment it is hard to see a scenario where Trouba remains a Jet long-term. Two contentious contract negotiations including arbitration points to the Jets not understanding Trouba’s true value. Although Dustin Byfuglien plays the same side as him, both players are needed for the Jets to succeed. While they can hopefully survive Toby Enstrom leaving, potentially losing two of their top-four defencemen from their conference finals team seems unideal at best.
For now we know Trouba will report to training camp on time and hopefully remain a Jet for a long time.
Number eight is back! 🙌#IsItOctoberYet pic.twitter.com/ToQtNVr1Ut
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 25, 2018
