1 last-minute trade Utah HC must make before 2024-25 NHL season
Utah HC has yet to play a game in the NHL but is off to a great start building their roster. They have traded for defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino but could use another depth piece. The Coyotes did not set them up well with current players but the prospect and draft pools are well stocked. They should call the Rangers are attempt to grab Jacob Trouba before the season begins.
Utah HC joins the NHL with fairly low expectations. The Coyotes have been brutal since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, not even sniffing the playoffs since. Arizona was not spending to the cap ceiling, harboring draft picks and LTIR candidates, and openly tanking through the end of their run. Before hitting the ice, new owner Ryan Smith has proven that he will not follow that game plan.
Trouba and the Rangers are at the end of their run, the captain said so himself. Reports stated that Trouba was approached about a trade to his hometown Detroit Red Wings. He declined that offer, stating his wife had a job in New York that they did not want to leave. Despite that issue, the Rangers could still trade him. He has a 15-team no-trade list and if Utah HC is not on that list, he cannot decline the move.
While the Rangers would be going back on what they told Trouba originally, it would be the right move for their team. He is chewing up $8 million of the salary cap for this year and next. That money is needed to keep their core together. If Utah HC comes calling, the Rangers should trade him.
Potential Utah HC packages to land Jacob Trouba
As was mentioned earlier, Utah HC has plenty of draft picks to use in trades. They have 13 picks in the first three rounds over the next three years, with plenty more in later rounds. The package would not be anything dramatic, a fourth-round and sixth-round selections should do. Utah is in the best position in the entire league to make a deal like that.
The Rangers may even attach a pick to get Trouba off of their books or retain salary to make the deal work. Former Rangers captain and current GM Chris Drury has not shown the cutthroat nature that Vegas has as an organization, for example. Trading the captain to Utah HC during training camp would be the definition of cutthroat.
Utah HC must attract fans to their team quickly like the Golden Knights have done over in Vegas. There are already reports that the Kraken will be outshined by the return of the SuperSonics in Seattle. Utah cannot let that happen to them, especially with how bad the Jazz were last year. Getting star players like Sergachev, Dylan Guenther , and Trouba on their team will help start fan growth in Salt Lake.
Do not expect any players or prospects to move if this trade occurs. Utah HC should not be in the business of mortgaging the future, especially for a player who is known to be on the trade block. Jacob Trouba to Utah is a long shot, but maybe we'll see the Rangers captain in a different shade of blue this October.
