Trouba has Jets holding out hope

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This article was published 05/03/2017 (3114 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The speed of change in the NHL can be staggering.

A little less than four months ago, Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba was ending a 15-game contract stalemate and there was nagging doubt about how the 23-year-old would perform when he returned to the Winnipeg lineup. As a restricted free agent, he didn’t get the trade he had demanded and a two-year, US$6-million bridge deal he signed seemed like a temporary solution at best.

Fast forward to early March and the situation seemingly has been turned on its head.

An injury to veteran Tyler Myers quickly paved the way for the right-handed Trouba to play on his preferred right side, paired with Toby Enstrom. The combo proved effective and Trouba quickly dispelled any notion his development had plateaued in 2015-16.

With six goals and 26 points in 49 games, Trouba is close to matching career highs he set during his rookie season, but it’s his defensive play, a ramped-up physical game and ability to move the puck out of harm’s way in crunch time that is drawing the biggest raves.

There is rarely anything tentative about Trouba’s play anymore. On Saturday, he stepped over the blue line and blasted a rising shot over the Colorado net and immediately powered to the net, gathered a rebound off the glass and slammed the puck past startled Avalanche goalie Jeremy Smith.

After being paired recently with another up-and-coming young star, Josh Morrissey, it’s clear Trouba is not just a member of Winnipeg’s supporting cast. He’s become the defensive leader of the club, drawing the most important shutdown assignments from head coach Paul Maurice (on Friday night, the Trouba-Morrissey duo held St. Louis Blues superstar Vladimir Tarasenko off the scoresheet and without a shot on net).

Trouba’s hard-nosed style combined with Morrissey’s crafty, puck-moving game could become a fixture on Winnipeg’s blue-line for years, providing Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can get the Rochester, Mich., product’s signature on a long-term contract extension to carry beyond the 2017-18 season. The going rate for young top-pairing defencemen is US$5 million or more per season (Toronto Maple Leafs blue-liner, Morgan Rielly, chosen four picks before Trouba in the 2012 draft, signed a six-year, US$30-million deal last spring).

The prospect of playing with Morrissey could be an another enticement to stick around.

“He’s a really good player,” Trouba said after Saturday’s 6-1 thrashing of the Avalanche.

“I think he’s showed it all year. He does the simple things, he does the right play, he makes the easy play that’s in front of him. He doesn’t do too much and get in trouble. He’s very consistent and that’s exactly what you’re looking forward to in a partner.”

TRUSTING HELLEBUYCK

Connor Hellebuyck, who seems to have found his groove, made his 10th consecutive start in goal Saturday and came within 15.4 seconds of posting his second consecutive shutout.

Hellebuyck stopped 51 of 52 shots on back-to-back nights and was able to keep his scrambling to a minimum.

“I think the trust has always been the same,” Trouba said of Hellebuyck.

“I think, as a team, we’re playing better defence and keeping pucks to the outside and clearing the front of the net a little bit better. I just think all the little things add up to make his save a little bit easier.”

Maurice said practice time has been crucial for Hellebuyck, who seems likely to start tonight against the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks.

The Jets, 30-30-6, are two points behind the Los Angeles Kings, who hold down the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Kings have one game in hand on the Jets while the St. Louis Blues, one point behind L.A., were hosting Colorado Sunday night.

“He’s had real good results when we’ve had a couple of days where he’s been able to work,” Maurice said.

“He’s like most of these guys — they’re young players, they need to be on the ice working on things. And each time we’ve been able to do that for him, he’s come back real strong.”

Winnipeg outshot Colorado 14-3 in the first period but Hellebuyck said he had no trouble keeping his focus.

“Well, you know, I’ve prepared for this,” Hellebuyck said.

“I’ve seen enough shots in practice and we had a game yesterday, so it was kind of a little nice break.”

NOTEWORTHY

The Jets are 17-3-4 in games where Calder Trophy candidate Patrik Laine has scored a goal.

After beating Colorado Saturday, Winnipeg is 6-4-2 in the second game of back-to-back games this season.

The Jets are also 27-8-4 when they have scored three or more goals and 16-8-1 against Central Division opponents.

ABOUT THE SHARKS

The Sharks, who were 38-18-7 and first in the Pacific Division heading into Sunday’s showdown with the Central-leading Minnesota Wild in St. Paul, Minn., added RW Jannick Hansen prior to the NHL’s trade deadline on Wednesday. Hansen was still dealing with visa issues Saturday, which could impact his availability for the game at the MTS Centre. Hansen was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for left wing prospect Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional fourth-round draft pick that becomes a first-round choice if the Sharks win the Stanley Cup.

Injury report: defenceman David Schlemko (lower body) is day-to-day while right winger Joonas Donskoi (upper body) and D Dylan DeMelo (broken wrist) have been cleared to play.

Fifteen of the 23 players on San Jose’s active roster played important roles on the club’s run to the Stanley Cup final last season.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14