It’s safe to say Mathieu Perreault isn’t a fan of Jacob Trouba’s recent request to be traded from the Winnipeg Jets.
[link_box id=”22277″ site_id=”17″ layout=”link-box-third” alignment=”alignright”]Trouba released a statement through his agent on Saturday, asking to be traded from Winnipeg due to his role and the Jets’ strong defense core. The restricted free agent didn’t see a future in the Peg’. Perreault wasn’t thrilled with the request.
“This guy plays big minutes, 22 minutes, and he’s gonna complain some sort of way about his ice time?” Perreault told Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press. “How much more does he want?”
Perreault stressed a potential sit-out by Trouba could decrease his value going forward.
“I think for (Trouba’s) case, you know, it might be even worse not to come play,” Perreault said. “If we start the year and it goes well, then, you know, it feels like we don’t even need you.”
Perreault didn’t hold back. But, his ice-time remarks don’t exactly add up. Trouba is an outstanding young defenseman with top-pair potential. With Winnipeg, Trouba didn’t crack the top-50 among NHL defenseman (Toronto’s Matt Hunwick did) in ice time. He certainly could have a bigger role elsewhere and be trusted more offensively and defensively.
In Perreault’s eyes, Trouba’s trade request was made for selfish reasons. That might be true, but Trouba could have a much more prominent role (not to mention a new contract) elsewhere. No matter what, a return to Winnipeg isn’t in the cards.
[theScore]
