With the Jets 30 games into the regular season and boasting a 14-14-2 record, head coach Paul Maurice felt the need to spice things up. After making a number of changes to the forward lineup earlier in the year, it was time to make a couple switches on the blue-line. He moved Jacob Trouba, who was playing alongside Mark Stuart on the third pairing, to the second line with Dustin Byfuglien. That resulted in Ben Chiarot moving to the third line to play with Stuart.
The move made sense at the time as Trouba, a right-handed player and undoubtedly the future of the Jets defence for years to come, needed to earn more ice time and face stiffer competition.