Oh those rumours. They're swirling again.
Can't a guy enjoy his holidays? Apparently not. So here I am, dropping in for a blog, holiday edition.
The Michigan Daily, a student newspaper, is reporting that the Kitchener Rangers have offered Jacob Trouba $200,000 to come to the OHL.
You know Trouba, he of Rangers property but University of Michigan committed. The source leaking the news is unnamed.
I hear a lot of rumours covering the Rangers. I get emails all the time insisting trades are going to happen, or in some cases, have actually occurred. It doesn't sound sexy to say, but the reality is, most of the time the rumours are not true.
As for Trouba? Who knows? The fact that the reporter is a student is meaningless. Back in the day, I can remember the Toronto Star coming to my student paper at Ryerson and asking for a photo of a shooting victim that we got and they didn't. My point being that students can scoop the pros.
I can tell you this. I have interviewed Trouba three times and his story has never changed. He wants, and plans to go, to Michigan. I have interviewed some of his good friends and none of them have ever felt that he has wavered on that decision.
I have interviewed various Rangers' staff about this -- and they're probably sick of me asking -- and their message has been the same: they would love to have him in Kitchener, but that decision is in the hands of the Winnipeg Jets.
If the Jets sign Trouba to a pro deal, he'll be at the Aud. If not, maybe they nudge him this way, or maybe they let him go to Michigan. NHL teams are made up of guys who have ties to the CHL, so it wouldn't be far fetched to believe they might want one of their top prospects to develop there.
My rule of thumb - unless you're hearing it from the player, coach or GM/president, don't put much stock into it.
Now, back to the holidays (though I will pop back now and again to update the blog).
