Sharks Sign Jacob Trouba to 4-Year Deal

The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Jacob Trouba to a four-year contract worth $8.25 million a season, according to TSN’s Elliotte Friedman. The veteran defenseman flips to another California team.

Trouba was selected ninth overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, and he has played 14 seasons in the NHL. He became an NHL regular just one season after his draft year, playing six seasons in Winnipeg, six seasons with the New York Rangers, and two seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.

While he hasn’t won any awards for his performance (he won the 2023-24 Messier Award for his leadership), he has been a dependable top-pair defenseman for most of his career. On the first pair with the Ducks last season, he had 10 goals and 25 assists in the regular season, but just one goal in the playoffs.

Trouba Combines Grit With Some Offensive Pop

Trouba’s defining trait is that he’s difficult to play against. He’s gritty and physical, averaging 176 blocked shots and 167 hits a season. His elbow has been a big part of his game, especially with the Rangers, who acquired him from the Jets in the 2019 offseason for Neal Pionk and a 2019 first-round pick.

Still, he had some decent offensive pop to go along with his gritty play style, averaging around 32 points each season. However, those numbers took a downturn starting in 2023-24; he had just three goals and 19 assists in 2023-24 and a goal and 13 assists between New York and Anaheim in 2024-25. The Rangers traded Trouba to the Ducks on Dec. 6, 2024, for a fourth-round pick and Urho Vaakanainen.

With his looming unrestricted free agency this offseason, it didn’t look like he’d get much interest with his decline in production, but like the Ducks in 2025-26, he surprised everyone, posting 10 goals and 25 assists through 81 games, providing legitimate contributions as the Ducks surged into the playoffs.

Trouba led the team in minutes per game at 22:50 before the Ducks traded for John Carlson. His pairing with Jackson LaCombe was one of the best in the postseason from an analytical standpoint, with the group posting a 60.1% expected goals percentage, ranking fifth among pairings with more than 50 minutes together through the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.

He has ample playoff experience too, with 85 games under his belt, although he has just 20 points in those games. Seven of those points were in the Rangers’ run to the Eastern Conference Final, where they suffered a defeat against the eventual-Stanley-Cup-champion Florida Panthers.

Sharks Adding Revitalized Leadership Presence

The Sharks are bringing in a player who, at the very least, should bring needed grit and tenacity to their defense corps; considering their need at right defense, they acted quickly to get their guy. He looked revived in head coach Joel Quenneville’s system, but there are questions about whether or not his play was improved by LaCombe’s growth and Quenneville’s system.

With his deal, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trouba gets an “A” on his jersey at some point considering he was the captain of the Rangers for two-and-a-half seasons before his trade to Anaheim.

San Jose still has $22.9 million in cap space to work with. The team will have to wait for many prospects to progress to make the jump to Stanley Cup contention, but with this signing, they’re at least trying to fight for a playoff spot.