Rangers’ captain Trouba had a mixed 2023-24 season, scoring 3 goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 69 regular-season games, plus 1 goal and 6 assists in 16 playoff games. The Rangers were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the conference finals.
Trouba has two years left on his seven-year, $56 million contract, which includes an $8 million annual salary. His no-move clause becomes a 15-team no-trade list on July 1, allowing him to veto trades to those teams.
Trading Trouba would free up his $8 million salary for the Rangers. They acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets in June 2019 and named him captain in August 2022. Johnston described Trouba as a strong, physical player who would be an asset for most teams, though he may be a luxury for the Rangers due to their depth with Adam Fox and Braden Schneider on the right side.
Maple Leafs Looking to Improve Defense
The potential fit between the Leafs and Trouba aligns with Toronto’s reported desire to add size to their defense this offseason. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported on June 19 that the Leafs are targeting bigger defensemen, mentioning Vancouver Canucks’ Nikita Zadorov and St. Louis Blues’ Colton Parayko as specific targets.
PuckPedia projects the Maple Leafs to have $19.7 million in cap space entering the offseason, but they currently have only four defensemen under contract. Among their pending free agents, only Timothy Liljegren is a restricted free agent, with six others becoming unrestricted free agents.
