Jacob Trouba's New Contract Earns Criticism From Experts
· Yahoo Sports
The San Jose Sharks needed to do something this summer to address their blue line and it's safe to say they certainly did that.
Despite the fact that the 2026-27 San Jose defensive core will undoubtedly be better than the one they iced last season, both of their major moves have drawn considerable criticism. Jacob Trouba's new contract for example, is being touted as one of the NHL's worst contracts by multiple experts.
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Earlier this week, The Athletic's Dom Luszczszyn took a look at Trouba's new deal from an analytical point of view and ranked it as the fifth-worst contract across the NHL.
"Trouba has some great intangible elements and plays the game with a fierce edge, but his one-ice value is closer to No. 4/5 territory than what this deal expects: a No. 2 defenseman. It’s been a very long time since Trouba has been that. He had a one-off season at that level in 2021-22. But not since his time in Winnipeg has Trouba consistently put up top-pair numbers."- Dom Luszczyszyn - The Athletic
Luszczyszyn's sentiments were echoed by The Hockey News' Adam Proteau who featured Trouba in his article discussing the five worst contracts signed since July 1.
"Trouba had a decent season with the Ducks last year, putting up 10 goals and 35 points in 81 games. But if he’s being asked to be in San Jose’s top D-pairing, that’s too much for a guy who was traded away by the New York Rangers and let go by the Ducks in free agency. Trouba’s experience has value for the Sharks, but at the cost San Jose paid for him, Trouba isn’t likely to be a great-value addition. He can mentor the Sharks’ youngsters, but other than that, Trouba isn’t a difference-maker."- Adam Proteau - The Hockey News
Both experts make similar points, some of which are hard to argue. Trouba, especially at this stage in his career, shouldn't be counted on to play top-pairing minutes. While his physicality and offensive production are helpful, at this stage of his career he's a much better fit on a second pairing.
It's certainly reasonable to be hesitant of Trouba's contract, as we've become conditioned to a salary in that range being a substantial amount of a team's salary cap. With that being said, one important thing to remember is how quickly the market is changing. We're no longer in the age of $4-5 million second pairing defensemen, as we saw with Bowen Byram's contract extension in Chicago.
Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski are going to rewrite the defensive market even further in a year or two, putting top-tier defensemen's salaries in the same stratosphere as the highest paid forwards. Once that happens, Trouba's contract will be in the ballpark of an average second-pairing defenseman.
While the Sharks are a couple seasons ahead of that salary being the norm for Trouba's role, the salary cap is far from an issue for San Jose at this point in time. While Trouba likely won't live up to the expectations of his contract in years one or two, as long as he doesn't regress substantially in the back half of the contract, his salary shouldn't be an issue in the long run.
As both Luszczyszyn and Proteau mentioned, if the Sharks opt to attempt to give Trouba top-pairing ice time, it has the potential to make this signing look a lot worse in the long-run. If they use him in a role more suited to his ability at this stage in his career, he'll likely be just fine.