This isn't the first time I've seen you mention this. I hope you're right. And like nyqitf mentioned, Yzerman may also have a good idea of where his head is at. Not that I think he's spoken to him directly, but I'm sure a lot of people deep in the hockey circles have a much better idea of what's going on with all of these players (pending free agents) than most of us average fans do. Trouba would be a HUGE add, and getting him for free (giving up no assets) would be massive for the rebuild.
I agree. I'd prefer to wait and see what we have in Athanasiou and Veleno (I think Rasmussen is better suited as a winger), rather than give up the assets to acquire Nugent-Hopkins. However, you're way off on your stats. You're looking at his assist totals, not points. He's actually been a 55-65 point center for most of his career, aside from two down years (2015-2017). That's a high, high end 2C, which is what we would hope Veleno could become some day. I think he can, but I've been wrong before...
EDIT: I would consider trading Athanasiou or Rasmussen in a package for Nugent-Hopkins, but not Mantha... But again, the price would likely be too high in any RNH trade scenario...