Things are looking a little bit brighter if you’re a Winnipeg Jets fan.
Particularly on the blue line.
After months of negotiations, trade rumours and plenty of headlines, Jacob Trouba hit the ice with the Jets for Tuesday’s morning skate ahead of the club’s meeting with the Dallas Stars.
While he’s not expected to play just yet, he is expected to stick around for a while.
Upon signing the two-year, $6-million bridge deal Monday afternoon, many in the hockey world were wondering if this was just the first step in a sign-and-trade deal.
According to Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, that’s not the case.
“He’s a Winnipeg Jet. I’m looking forward to him playing. I’m not looking to trade him,” Cheveldayoff said during an appearance on Sportsnet’s Hockey Central at Noon. “There’s been no promises, there’s been no handshakes, there’s been nothing. There’s been a … contract and we’re looking forward to Jacob playing for us.”
And so far, it looks like the feeling is mutual.
Trouba spoke with reporters following Tuesday’s skate and said he’s “extremely happy” to be back.
Does he still want to be traded?
“No. I’ve committed to sign here for two years, and when I signed that piece of paper everything changes, in my mind,” Trouba told reporters. ” I’m now part of this team, and whatever I’m asked to do for these next two years while I’m under contract is what I’m going to do.”
Despite much talk about Trouba simply not wanting to play in Manitoba, the defenceman said his initial trade request, which he made back in May (though news of it broke in September) was “never about Winnipeg.”
“I tried making that very clear,” Trouba said. “What I said in the statement was how I felt at the time, and it never had anything to do with Winnipeg or Canada or any of that.”
(It’s worth noting here that then-22-year-old Kyle Turris went through a similar situation with the Coyotes when he requested a trade back in 2011. He signed in late November, but was then traded to Ottawa two weeks later. Trouba’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, is the same agent who handled Turris’ situation.)
With the long standoff over, both parties are putting any hard feelings behind them.
“When you’re in it, it’s emotional. It’s tense. And then once decisions are made, you move forward and you continue to build,” said Cheveldayoff. “What happened in the past happened in the past. The future is left to be written and it starts when he gets his first chance to play on the ice.”
