Winnipeg Jets aren't focused on status of unsigned defenceman Jacob Trouba

The Anaheim Ducks have come to terms with restricted free agent defenceman Hampus Lindholm, 22, Thursday with a reported six-year, $31.5 million contract.  That leaves Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba as the last notable restricted free agent this season.

After Thursday's Jets pregame skate, the team was quick to say they aren't worried about the ongoing Trouba saga.

"It's none of my business, I worry about the guys in the room, the guys you're going to work everyday with. That's his business, if he comes back here, we'll welcome him with open arms," said team captain Blake Wheeler.

Mark Scheifele who signed with the Jets with an eight-year contract worth $49 million this summer, was quick to say the off-ice dealings of another club won't factor in for their team.

"Well that's just what hockey is, every team is different. You know guys signing on another team doesn't really affect us by any means, it's part of the business, we're here to focus on playing hockey games and that's our only focus," said Scheifele.

The Jets have lost two games in a row and have a penalty kill that ranks in the bottom third of all NHL teams. Head coach Paul Maurice said the club isn't frustrated there is still no resolution with Trouba.

"There's no frustration. We saw this one coming down the pipe, and he's not in the room. That has a big factor in terms of the distraction." Maurice added the injury to centre Bryan Little is hurting the team more.

"We've got a number of solid defencemen in our lineup. The Bryan Little injury is probably a bigger frustration than anything else because that really changes the look,"  said Maurice

Trouba's agent Kurt Overhardt said Thursday that there are still no negotiations and since May they have been trying to work with the Jets to transfer Trouba's negotiation rights to another club. Trouba has told the Jets he wants to play defence on the right side. Last year he mostly played on the left side.

Overhardt said that Trouba being the last notable restricted free agent doesn't affect their plan.

"You don't enter a situation like this without deliberating and obviously understanding the ramifications of what you're working on. Jacob is a very talented young player, he's a very intelligent young man, very thoughtful, so we obviously have a plan and we're going to continue to work on it," said Overhardt.

Trouba using the time to better himself

Overhardt speaks with Trouba everyday and said Trouba is waiting out the stalemate in his home state of Michigan, doing a lot of training on and off the ice.

"I always view opportunities like these as an opportunity for the player to really work on, not only their conditioning and their strength and their flexibility but to really learn some things and work on skill development. Obviously the player is not in game shape but from a skill standpoint, skating, puck skill and then on and off ice training, it's been really a very productive time and will continue to be," said Overhardt.

This season isn't the first where the Jets dressing room faced questions on the business side of the game. Last season team captain Andrew Ladd and top defenceman Dustin Byfuglien started the season with expiring contracts. Byfuglien didn't resign until February and Ladd ended up being dealt to Chicago near the league's trade deadline.

"There aren't many teams in the league who have players that are completely under contract or not going through contract situations so we're no different in that sense, it's a business sort of thing that everyone goes through," Wheeler added that those issues don't typically creep into the room.

"We've got a good group of guys that are here right now, we're working hard everyday to get better," said Wheeler.

And the work to get better without Trouba, continues Thursday night when the Jets face off against the Dallas Stars for a second time this week before heading to Denver for a Friday night match against the Colorado Avalanche.