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Jets respond to Jacob Trouba’s trade request

Winnipeg Jets v Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 17: Jacob Trouba #8 of the Winnipeg Jets prepares for a face-off against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on December 17, 2013 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Jen Fuller/Getty Images)

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Word surfaced on Saturday night that Winnipeg Jets restricted free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba has requested a trade from the team so that he can, in his view, reach his full potential as a player.

It did not take long for the Jets to issue a statement responding to the request.

In a statement released by the team, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said that in his view Trouba “still represents an important part of the long-term future” of the club and that they working diligently to resolve the matter.

Here is his full statement, via the Jets:

“We are aware of the statement issued by Kurt Overhardt regarding Jacob Trouba.

“Over the last three seasons, Jacob Trouba has played a key role for the Winnipeg Jets and in our view still represents an important part of the long-term future of our club. As such, any decisions made regarding Jacob Trouba will be made in the best interest of the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club.

“As an unsigned player, we cannot compel Jacob to report to training camp at this time. However, we will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter. We will have no further comment on this matter until such time as it is resolved.”

That is pretty much the type of response you should expect from the team given the circumstances, and they can’t just give him away in a trade just because he requested one. He is still an extremely valuable player and getting fair value in return is a must for the Jets.

It is also worth pointing out that these things sometimes have a weird way of playing out. Just this past season we saw two very public trade requests go through without a trade ever being completed when Travis Hamonic requested a move from the New York Islanders for family reasons and Jonathan Drouin had his situation play out with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Drouin situation seemed to be beyond repair on more than one occasion and he not only ended up returning to the team, but also playing a key role for the team in the playoffs. He once again looks like a key building block for their team going forward.

We will see how this situation plays out for Trouba and the Jets.