Rangers trade Jacob Trouba to Ducks for Urho Vaakanainen, draft pick
The New York Rangers traded defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The deal was made a few hours after the now-former captain was scratched from New York’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden for what was termed “roster management.”
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that the Rangers will not retain any salary. Trouba’s seven-year, $56 million contract (average annual value $8 million), which includes a no-trade clause, runs through the 2025-26 season.
Trouba was named captain of the Rangers in the summer of 2022, three years after he was acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets. At the time Trouba got the “C,” he was coming off his best season with the Rangers – he finished 2021-22 with 11 goals, 39 points and was plus-25, and the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But the 30-year-old became expendable last summer after a disappointing season. General manager Chris Drury sought to get Trouba to agree to a trade in June, but he used his 15-team no-trade clause, not wanting to leave New York while his wife, Kelly, was in her medical residency at a local hospital.
“I had a choice to make between my career and my family,” he told ESPN between periods of the Penguins-Rangers game. “I chose my family. I’d make that decision 1,000 times over. It’s unfortunate how it all unfolded and became public.
“It is what it is, and I’m ready to move past it.”
Drury opted to try again because of Trouba’s slow start this season (no goals, six assists, minus-3 in 24 games) and the Rangers’ 1-6-0 slump entering the game against the Penguins. He reportedly planned to put Trouba on waivers if no deal could be worked out; instead, the defenseman opted to join the Ducks (10-11-3), where he joins ex-Rangers forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano.
“Anaheim was one of the places my wife and I were interested in,” Trouba said. “Just everything about it. Where the team’s at, I think they have a great opportunity in the next couple years. It’s kind of a similar situation to when I came to New York with the really good young players that are ready to take the next step, and if there’s something I can do to help contribute to that, I think that’s my goal.
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Jacob Trouba’s tenure with Rangers on wild day
Trouba played 364 regular-season games with the Rangers; he had 136 points (31 goals, 105 assists) and 329 penalty minutes, and was plus-16. He averaged 20:00 TOI this season for the Rangers, including a team-high 3:03 on the penalty kill, while playing with a variety of partners. In addition, Trouba was named the 2023-24 recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award and won the Rod Gilbert “Mr. Ranger” Award in 2022-23.
“I want to sincerely thank Jacob for his contributions to the Rangers and our community,” Drury said. “Jacob has been an example on and off the ice for our organization and played a major role in our success over the last several years. Since coming to New York five years ago, and serving as captain for the last three seasons, he has demonstrated grit, toughness, and tremendous leadership and we can’t thank Jacob enough for everything he has done for the Rangers.”
Trouba said he has nothing but fond memories of his time with the Rangers.
“I loved it,” he said. “This is fresh, but taking some time to reflect, obviously the captaincy is extremely special. The day I was named captain is something I’ll always remember. Two conference finals, Presidents’ Trophy and even more.
“There will always be a piece of my heart in New York, some place I’ll definitely come back to a lot. Also, five years and a bit is a long time and I’m very grateful for all those memories. Now it’s time to turn the page and start something new.”
He’ll have a couple of familiar faces in Anaheim — Vatrano and Strome — when he joins the Ducks for their game in Montreal on Monday.
“Obviously, I’m friends with Frank and Ryan Strome, so those are two guys that I have talked to in the past,” he said “I’m still pretty good buddies with them, have talked to them over the past couple of years, so, obviously I know what they say about the organization, and they speak very highly of the players and the team. It’s an organization that is ready to take the next real step, and hopefully this is another step in the right direction.”
Vaakanainen has not played since Nov. 13 because of an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. He has an assist and seven blocked in five games this season. The 25-year-old set an NHL career high in 2023-24 with 68 games played; he finished with 14 points (one goal, 13 assists), 55 hits and 79 blocks — and was selected as the Ducks’ nominee for the 2023-24 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
He will make $1.1 million this season, according to Puckpedia, and can become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1, 2025.
The Boston Bruins took Vaakanainen in the first round (No. 18) of the 2017 draft, but he’s been plagued by injuries throughout his career.
The Athletic reported that the draft pick will be the lower of Anaheim’s two choices in the fourth round next June. The Ducks own their own fourth-rounder as well as one that they acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in a trade for forward Robby Fabbri.
While Trouba’s teammates will be sorry to see him go, coach Peter Laviolette said after the morning skate that he and Drury were of one mind when it came to Trouba’s situation.
“Chris and I are together on our thoughts,” he told the media. When asked if Monday’s 5-1 home loss to the New Jersey Devils was Trouba’s last with the Rangers, the coach said simply, “He’s not in the lineup tonight.”
Laviolette made it clear that something had to be done to halt a slide that has seen the Rangers go 8-10-0 after a 5-0-1 start, including the six losses in their past seven games. “It’s not meant to be a message,” he said. “I think everybody’s understanding of where we’ve been for the last month and how we’ve played. We can’t continue down that road or we’ll find ourselves out of the playoffs.”
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