30 NHL stars who could be traded this offseason

As the Stanley Cup Final comes to a close, now it's time to focus on the NHL offseason. There are some absolute superstars who could be on the trading block, including Mitch Marner, Brady Tkachuk, and Trevor Zegras.

Ottawa Senators v Toronto Maple Leafs / Claus Andersen/GettyImages

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29. Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are in their ruthless era this offseason. Rumors say they knew that Barclay Goodrow had the San Jose Sharks on his no-trade list. So, they put him on waivers and he was claimed, getting his contract off the Rangers' books. There have been rumors about Kaapo Kakko, Mika Zibanejad, heck, even Artemi Panarin has heard his name in trade rumors. All this to say that trading away their captain would not surprise anyone.

Jacob Trouba was their prized trade acquisition back in 2019. Now, five years later, the Rangers are seeing an asset that has changed his game to try and take opposing players’ heads off, but that’s pretty much it. He has a lethal elbow, but that’s the only part of his game that’s lethal anymore.

Trouba is costing the Rangers $8 million on their cap every year. Even with Goodrow’s price off their books, they have just $12 million to upgrade the roster. It’s not even this year where the Rangers need to get this contract off the books. Next season, the Rangers need to find a ton of money. Alexis Lafreniere, K’Andre Miller, and Igor Shesterkin will need new contracts. Shesterkin will be an unrestricted free agent, and he could cost $12 million himself per season. Getting out of a bad contract in Trouba now keeps them from having to pay a team or buy him out next offseason.

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