Trouba gets warm welcome from teammates, Maurice

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This article was published 08/11/2016 (3243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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There were hugs and handshakes — and no obvious hard feelings — as Jacob Trouba returned to the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday morning.

Trouba was on the ice for the morning skate, less than 24 hours after the young defenceman signed a two-year deal to end his contract stalemate and return to the team that drafted him. And while Trouba won’t be making his season debut when the Jets take on the Dallas Stars at MTS Centre tonight, he was certainly the centre of attention.

“I want to play hockey. I’m a hockey player,” Trouba said matter-of-factly when asked what changed in his dispute with the team. “I’m extremely happy to be back in the locker room.”

Trouba made waves during training camp when he formally requested a trade from Winnipeg through his agent, citing his usage by the team as the main factor. And while some now speculate the cap-friendly $3-million per season deal he signed Monday still leaves him open to a swap, Trouba said he’s no longer looking for a change of scenery.

“I’ve committed to sign here for two years. When I signed that piece of paper everything changed in my mind,” said Trouba. “It was never about Winnipeg. I tried making that clear. It never had anything to do with Winnipeg or Canada.”

Trouba said he will play wherever coach Paul Maurice wants him, saying his previously aired concerns “go out the window now” and that “things change over time.” But he expressed no regrets about how the matter was handled despite losing a significant amount of money by missing the first 13 games of the season.

“I guess I took a stand in a way,” he said.

For what it’s worth, Trouba was playing on the right side during Tuesday’s morning skate, paired with Mark Stuart, who is working his way back from an injury.

Trouba admitted there may be some fences to mend with teammates but invited any of them to speak with him personally. There were no obvious signs of tensions in the locker room Tuesday. Captain Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele both spoke of greeting Trouba with “big hugs” upon seeing him and understanding the business side of sports, saying they never took the matter personally. Both said they kept in constant touch with Trouba over the past several weeks.

“He’s a big part of what we’ve done in the past and where we’re going in the future. I know there aren’t any hard feelings. We’re excited to have Jacob back. He’s one of the more popular guys in our room,” Wheeler said.

Maurice said he was happy to have such a major part of his team’s youthful foundation back in the fold. He said Trouba will be undergoing some off-ice testing Tuesday and will practise Wednesday, with the hope of getting him in the lineup as early as Thursday when the Jets play in Arizona.

Maurice was asked where he planned to play Trouba.

“He’s going to play defence for the Winnipeg Jets. Same place he finished off. He’ll play as part of a group. If he plays really well, like any of them, he will play more. If his play slips he will play less,” Maurice said.

Maurice chalked up the trade demand to typical negotiating ploys and isn’t expecting any blowback, going forward.

“We’ve got a really good room in there,” he said. “This is an unusual group, being so young. I like the way they are around each other. I like the way they are on the bench. To add another young guy, you can’t sit in that room as a young player and not look around and get excited about the future of this team, in my mind.”

As for Tuesday’s game, the Jets are expected to go with the same lineup as the one that dropped a 5-2 decision in New York Sunday night — with one exception. Defenceman Tyler Myers returns from injury, taking the place of Julian Melchiori, who has been sent back to the Manitoba Moose. Connor Hellebuyck gets the start in goal, despite being pulled Sunday after surrendering four goals.

Maurice provided some other injury updates on Tuesday — forwards Joel Armia and Shawn Matthias could both be out until late December or early January. Forwards Drew Stafford and Brian Little are expected to begin skating in the next few days, with Stafford’s return to action closer than Little’s. And forward Mathieu Perreault remains day-to-day with an injury but hasn’t resumed skating.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

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