NEW YORK — The Rangers have agreed to terms with restricted free-agent defenseman Jacob Trouba, whom they acquired from the Winnipeg Jets in a major offseason trade.
The deal reached Friday with Trouba, 25, is for seven years and $56 million, with an $8 million salary cap hit for the upcoming season. He is expected to anchor the team’s defense.
A 2012 first-round draft pick by the Jets, Trouba set career highs in points (50) and assists (42) last season. The Rangers acquired Trouba from the Jets for Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Welcome to #NYR, @JacobTrouba! #LGR pic.twitter.com/QKGBzJdDwx
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 19, 2019
Trouba never could get together with the Jets on a new deal. In 2016, he asked for a trade but eventually backed down. He received a one-year, $5.5 million deal in arbitration last summer, and with the Jets in a salary-cap crunch, they shipped him out.
A 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, Trouba is a workhorse defenseman especially adept at blocking shots. But the Rangers believe he has plenty of upside offensively.
For his six-year career, Trouba has 42 goals, 179 points and a plus-37 rating.
Information from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and The Associated Press was used in this report.