Are the Winnipeg Jets looking to trade Jacob Trouba?

The question seems almost inconceivable considering the play of the Michigan product when he first broke into the NHL with the Jets back in the 2013-14 season after being drafted 9th overall by Winnipeg at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Fast forward three seasons and the now restricted free agent is set to negotiate his next big contract with the team that drafted him.  Injuries limited him to 65 games in his first two years however the 6’3″202 lbs Trouba played 81 games last season for Winnipeg and has the ability to log big minutes for this team.

While Trouba would appear to be a cornerstone piece that you build a foundation of defence on for years to come there have been plenty of rumours that he would be asking for big money and that he may be on the block.  We kicked off June with talk from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet mentioning that the Colorado Avalanche might be kicking tires on the Jets defenceman.  Joe Haggerty of CSN New England recently mentioned that the Coyotes could also be in on a potential Trouba trade.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff addressed these rumours in his pre-draft chat with local media at the MTS Centre yesterday when asked if the Jets “are trying to trade Jacob Trouba?”.  He indicated “I’m not trying to trade anybody.  I think in this game there is a distinct possibility that anybody can get traded.  We’ve got some good young players, we’ve got two of them that are up for contracts in Trouba and Scheifele and we’re going to do our best to get those contracts done and in the books,”.

Of course the conversation/rumours likely would have ended if he has simply said ‘no’ as his first response to the question.  However he did end the above comment by saying “Trying to trade him, no”.

Was that emphatic enough for Jets fans?