The Jacob Trouba saga may not be coming to an end anytime soon.
So says TSN's Bob McKenzie, who - on Tuesday's edition of Insider Trading - outlined the difficulties facing the Winnipeg Jets in regards to their asking price in any deal involving the young defenseman.
"Not an easy transaction to conclude because the Winnipeg Jets' desire - in what they get back for Jacob Trouba - is so very precise as to make it difficult," McKenzie said. "They're looking for a left-hand shot defenseman of similar age, experience, potential. And that's really difficult. Anaheim's not trading Hampus Lindholm, Toronto's not trading Morgan Rielly, Arizona's not trading Oliver Ekman-Larsson."
Still, McKenzie added, more than half the teams in the NHL have varying degrees of interest in the talented, two-way defenseman, with four standing out as most willing to make a deal.
"I can think of four teams - maybe more - that have a really significant interest in this player but don't have the proper fit right now," he said. "That would be Arizona, Boston, Colorado, and the New York Rangers, among others.
"Maybe the parameters change at some point, but this would suggest to me maybe this is going to be a long, drawn-out affair."
Trouba's agent has made it clear his client is looking for a top-pair role on the right-side of the ice, and the restricted free agent isn't looking to reach a new deal with the Jets at this time.
That the Jets have specific requirements in place and that the trade request was made public only further complicate the matter, allowing prospective suitors to wait and see if the parameters for a trade do indeed soften from Winnipeg's side.
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