Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Cheveldayoff hasn’t budged, still calls Trouba a ‘big part’ of the Jets

Winnipeg Jets v San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 27: Jacob Trouba #8 of the Winnipeg Jets in action against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on March 27, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Jacob Trouba may have requested a trade out of Winnipeg last month, but Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is still talking like the 22-year-old defenseman is an important part of the club’s future.

“We believe that Jacob is a big part of this organization,” Cheveldayoff told TSN 1290 radio today. “We drafted him. We’ve had him here for three years. We think that he’s a big part of this organization moving forward.”

Granted, Cheveldayoff may have been posturing. Trouba is a restricted free agent, and his agent has said the trade request has nothing to do with money and everything to do with “the opportunity to realize his potential as a right shot NHL defenseman.”

The Jets already have two veteran right-shot defenseman under contract. Dustin Byfuglien recently signed a five-year extension, Tyler Myers has three years left on his deal.

So while things can always change (see: Jonathan Drouin in Tampa Bay), it seems unlikely at this point that Trouba is prepared to alter his course.

Cheveldayoff, meanwhile, has been consistent in his message that the Jets will only do what’s best for the club. The challenge in trading a young player like Trouba is getting a fair return, and the Jets are believed to want a youngish, left-shot defenseman back.

Could they get that out of Detroit, where Trouba would reportedly “love” to play? It would probably have to be Danny DeKeyser going to Winnipeg, and there’s no evidence that such a deal has been discussed.

So we’ll continue to wait and see where Trouba ends up, if he’s traded at all. The Jets open their regular season Thursday against Carolina.