The Rangers have decided the time is now to speed up their rebuild.
After spending the last 16 months patiently dealing away veterans and acquiring assets, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton moved aggressively to upgrade the Blueshirts' roster Monday when he traded for restricted free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for defenseman Neal Pionk and the 20th pick overall in Friday's NHL draft, a pick that originally belonged to Winnipeg and was acquired by the Rangers in the Kevin Hayes deal.
The 6-foot-3, 202-pound Trouba, 25, spent six seasons in Winnipeg, where he developed into a bona fide star. He played in all 82 games for the Jets in 2018-19, scoring eight goals with 42 assists for 50 points, setting career highs in games played, assists and points. He has played in 408 games, compiling 42 goals and 137 assists, for 179 points. He averaged 22:53 in ice time in 2018-19, second-most on the team.
A right-handed shot, Trouba immediately becomes the Rangers' No. 1 defenseman, and they will no doubt quickly sign him to contract. He played on a one-year deal last season at $5.5 million, and likely will command upward of $7 million per on a long-term deal.
The deal is the biggest move so far of what figures to be an action-packed summer for the Rangers. The offseason started with the Blueshirts moving up in the NHL draft lottery to the No. 2 selection overall, which will give them the opportunity to draft either American Jack Hughes or Finn Kaapo Kakko, the two biggest prizes available, in Vancouver on Friday. Then, Gorton traded with the Carolina Hurricanes to acquire defenseman Adam Fox and also signed several European additions _ goaltender Igor Shesterkin and 2018 first-round pick Vitaly Kravtsov, along with defensemen Yegor Rykov and Tarmo Reunanen.
Gorton is expected to be active in the chase for free agents beginning July 1, with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin expected to be a prime target.
Pionk, 23, an undrafted college free agent signed in 2017 out of Minnesota Duluth, was called up from AHL Hartford after the Rangers announced they were entering a rebuilding stage in February of 2018. He ended the season as a top pair defenseman for the club and began last season as perhaps the team's No. 1 defenseman. But perhaps because of injuries or overwork, his play tailed off in the second half of the season. He played 101 games over the past two seasons with the Rangers, scoring seven goals, with 33 assists for 40 points. A right-handed shot, like Trouba, he also is a restricted free agent.
