When the Rangers went out and acquired Jacob Trouba last summer, they invested heavily in the right-handed defenseman. Just days after sending back Winnipeg’s first round pick obtained in the Kevin Hayes deal along with Neal Pionk, he signed a seven year deal for an AAV of $8 million.
The vision was that he and his good friend, Brady Skjei would form the Blueshirts top pair on defense was quickly scrapped. Initially it was to break up two rookies in Adam Fox and Libor Hajek, but the two never clicked and Skjei was subsequently traded at the deadline for another first round selection.