2. Jacob Trouba
Jacob Trouba is a player who’s caused a lot of trouble for the Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff when it comes to contract negotiations. According to Capfriendly, the 24-year old is in the final year of his $5.5M contract with a pending restricted free agency after this season.
He’s had a career high of 33 points through his five full seasons at the NHL level having entered the league at the age of 19. Adding Trouba to the second pairing of the blue line would give the Columbus Blue Jackets the best defensive corps in the NHL.
So far the start the new season, Trouba has 7 points through 14 games although he only has a single goal and the rest of his points are assists.
With lackluster goaltending for the Columbus Blue Jackets to start the season, stacking up the defense could certainly be a way to keep goals out of the net.
Pairing Trouba with Markus Nutivaara on the second pairing while moving Ryan Murray and David Savard to the bottom pairing would create a level of depth that’s never been seen in any position for Columbus. Not to mention the top pairing of the defensive corps still remaining the same with Zach Werenski and Seth Jones.
In case of an injury to one of the two on the top pairing, Trouba would instantly be able to fill in better than anyone currently on the Blue Jackets. The difficulty with this plan is, Trouba likely is tired of being on the second pairing as he’s currently behind Dustin Byfuglien for the Jets.