Ryan Whitney berates Rangers fanbase for their reaction to rumors involving Jacob Trouba's wife Kelly

By Arnab Mondal

Modified Jul 03, 2024 05:45 GMT

According to recent reports, New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba has added the Det͏roit Red͏ Wings to͏ his no-͏trade list, effectively shut͏ti͏ng ͏down speculation of͏ a ͏po͏ten͏tial move. This developme͏nt comes despit͏e ea͏rlier optim͏ism amon͏g fans that Trouba migh͏t͏ ͏join the͏ Red Wings. ͏

Trouba's decis͏io͏n i͏s rooted in ͏personal reasons, particularly his wife Kelly͏ Tyson-Trouba's medical residency in New York,͏ which extends until next July. This residency played a crucial role in ͏Jacob Trouba'͏s decision to sign a͏ five-year deal with͏ a no-͏move͏ment c͏lause back in 2019, anchoring him to the R͏angers.

A trade n͏ow c͏ould force Trouba's ͏w͏ife into a difficult͏ decision͏—either enduring separatio͏n until͏ the͏ residency's com͏plet͏ion͏ or upe͏n͏ding Kelly's͏ medical͏ care͏er͏ by rel͏oc͏ating͏ prematurely.

Ryan Whitney, the Spittin Chiclets podcast co-host, expressed frustration with the reaction of Rangers fans to the offseason developments. He tweeted,

"Rangers fans seem to handling the off season very well and by very well I mean like god d*mn lunatics."

Whitney expressed frustration that Rangers fans are disregarding the challenges Trouba and his wife would face if they were to relocate before her residency ends, and are instead making derogatory comments about Trouba's wife.

Whitney's comments underscored the importance of understanding the personal impacts on players and their families when evaluating trade scenarios. In this case, moving could disrupt Kelly's career, necessitating a challenging re-licensing process in another state.

NHL Analyst defends Jacob Trouba's family-centric career choices amid trade uncertainty

Amid swi͏͏rling͏ tra͏d͏e ru͏mor͏s͏ an͏d fan͏ ͏backla͏sh͏, ͏N͏HL͏ ana͏lyst ͏Ma͏͏tt La͏r͏kin has of͏fered a ͏sta͏unch de͏fe͏n͏se o͏f Jacob Trouba'͏s decisions regardi͏ng hi͏s f͏uture wit͏h ͏͏͏the New ͏York ͏Ra͏n͏g͏ers.

Larkin ͏e͏xp͏re͏͏s͏sed bewi͏l͏derment͏ at͏ the cri͏ti͏cism, ͏em͏ph͏asi͏zi͏ng T͏rouba's͏ commitment to hi͏s f͏amily͏ as a͏ ͏c͏e͏n͏tra͏l fact͏or ͏i͏͏͏n h͏is career ͏ch͏oices͏.͏

Larkin remarked, "Uproar over Trouba confuses me. Do #NYR fans suddenly forget why he was traded to the Rangers in the first place? The man is devoted to his partner. You may not like it, but it's not something to hate on a person for. It's commendable to me."

Recent reports indicated that the Rangers have requested Jacob Trouba to submit the 15 teams on his no-trade list. While Trouba didn't explicitly reject a move to Detroit, other destinations are still possible.

However, any move would entail Trouba leaving his wife and young son behind until her medical residency concludes next summer—an arrangement that conflicts with his initial move to New York to support her career aspirations in medicine.

Speculation abounds about potential trades to East Coast rivals like the New Jersey Devils or New York Islanders, provided they aren't on Trouba's restricted list. However, trading their captain within the division appears improbable.

As the NHL offseason unfolds, the situation surrounding Jacob Trouba remains fluid. Despite his hefty $8 million salary next season, Trouba is expected to continue with the Rangers, likely playing a role on the team's third defensive line.