Home / News / The New York Rangers signed Jacob Trouba to seven-year, $56 million deal. Trouba’s dog Donnie was very excited.

The New York Rangers signed Jacob Trouba to seven-year, $56 million deal. Trouba’s dog Donnie was very excited.

By Ian Oland

 2 Comments

July 19, 2019 5:04 pm

Friday afternoon, the New York Rangers announced that they had signed restricted free agent Jacob Trouba to a seven-year, $56 million deal.

The Rangers landed the coveted 25-year-old, first-pairing defenseman from the Winnipeg Jets in June. The Rangers sent defenseman Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick at the 2019 NHL draft (Finnish blueliner Ville Heinola) to the Jets in exchange for 6’3” d-man.

Trouba refused to sign longterm with the Jets because he wanted to play in the United States and allow his fiancée, Kelly Tyson, to pursue her medical career.

“Everyone kind of views me, and I guess most athletes, just as athletes, but there’s other goals in life that I have,” Trouba said after the trade. “I want to be a husband and a father and all that stuff, and her career is important and she’s worked extremely hard. I want to see the best for her as much as she wants to see the best for me.”

On Twitter, Trouba said that he was “so excited” after the deal was announced.

But it was the couple’s dog Donnie who appears to be the most excited.

Donnie is four-years-old and is a very cute doggo.

View this post on Instagram

Happy 1st Birthday Donnie!!!

A post shared by Jacob Trouba (@jacobtrouba) on

The new contract makes Trouba ($8 million salary) the fifth highest-paid defenseman in the NHL along with John Carlson and Brent Burns. Only Erik Karlsson ($11.5 million), Drew Doughty ($11 million), PK Subban ($9 million), and Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($8.25 million) make more.

“It’s big,” Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said of acquiring Trouba according to the New York Post. “We wanted to improve the defense, we’re looking to improve the team. Age is a big part of it. Jacob is a big defenseman, plays against the top players and is moving into the prime of his career. He’s going to play big minutes.

“I think it helps us a lot. Whether this accelerates [the rebuild], we’ll see. We’ll see where this takes us.”

Trouba will slot in on the right side of the first pair with either Marc Staal or Brady Skjei. With Trouba, Adam Fox, and Tony DeAngelo all on the right side, Kevin Shattenkirk, whose wife Deanna gave birth to their first child recently, could potentially be bought out.

Moving forward, Trouba will have to adjust quick. He will play his former team on the Rangers’ season opener.

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The New York Rangers announced today that the team has agreed to terms with restricted free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba.

Trouba, 25, skated in 82 games with Winnipeg this past season, registering eight goals and 42 assists for 50 points, along with a plus-eight rating and 58 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in several categories in 2018-19, including games played, assists, and points. Trouba was tied for ninth among NHL defensemen in assists during the past season (tied with Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman), and he also ranked 13th among NHL defensemen in points during the season. Of the 13 NHL defensemen who recorded 50 or more points in 2018-19, Trouba received the least amount of power play ice time during the season (168:52; next lowest was Thomas Chabot – 205:41). In addition, Trouba’s 42 assists were the second-most by an NHL defenseman 25 years old or younger this past season (trailing only Morgan Rielly), and his 50 points were the third-most by an NHL defenseman 25 years old or younger (trailing only Rielly and Chabot). He also ranked sixth in the NHL in blocked shots in 2018-19 (171).

The 6-3, 202-pounder led the Jets in total ice time (1,876:00), total shorthanded ice time (201:57), and blocked shots, ranked second in average ice time (22:53) and average shorthanded ice time (2:28), tied for second in power play assists (15), ranked third in assists and even strength assists (25), and tied for fourth in points (50; tied with Patrik Laine) in 2018-19. Trouba tallied 35 points (five goals, 30 assists) over the final 44 games of the regular season. He helped Winnipeg advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the past season, and he recorded one assist in six playoff contests.

Trouba has skated in 408 career NHL games over six seasons (2013-14 – 2018-19), all with Winnipeg, registering 42 goals and 137 assists for 179 points, along with a plus-37 rating and 297 penalty minutes. He has averaged at least 22:00 of ice time in five of his six NHL seasons, and he averaged a career-high, 24:58 of ice time per game in 2016-17. Trouba finished sixth in voting for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2013-14, as he recorded 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 65 games. He has posted a plus/minus rating of even or better in every season of his NHL career.

Internationally, the Rochester, Michigan native has represented the United States in several tournaments. Trouba has represented the United States at the IIHF World Championship three times (2013, 2014, 2017), the IIHF World Junior Championship twice (2012 and 2013), and the IIHF U18 World Championship twice (2011 and 2012), and he was also a member of Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship; he was named the Best Defenseman in the tournament, as he led all defensemen in goals (four) and points (nine). Trouba also helped the United States win a gold medal in back-to-back years at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2011 and 2012), and he also helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.

Trouba was acquired by the Rangers in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on June 17, 2019. He was originally selected by Winnipeg in the first round, ninth overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

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