Jacob Trouba, captain of the New York Rangers, has been traded to the Anaheim Ducks. The Rangers acquire defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth round pick in return. New York retains none of Trouba’s salary.
This morning, it was reported that Trouba would be a healthy scratch in New York’s tilt tonight with the Pittsburgh Penguins, which sounded the alarm bells. It was heavily speculated that Trouba would be placed on waivers, but, of course, that saga ended with Trouba not being placed on waivers. Instead, just under an hour later, the full details of the trade were reported.
Trouba was drafted ninth overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2012, and scored a goal in his first NHL game on October 1, 2013. Trouba was traded to the New York Rangers on June 17, 2019, when he and the Jets were unable to come to terms on a contract extension. He signed a seven year deal with the Rangers worth $8 million per year. Trouba was named captain ahead of the 2022-23 season, just over two years ago. Trouba received the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2024 after the Rangers won the President’s Trophy.
So, how did we get here?
Well, the Rangers have been trying to move Trouba since the summer, so this doesn’t come as a surprise. The real shock is that they found a dance partner to take on Trouba’s whole contract. Here are my grades for both teams involved in this trade.
New York’s Grade: A+
This here is a no-brainer. The Rangers got out of an absolute anchor of a contract. They didn’t have to retain any salary, and acquired a fourth round pick in the 2025 NHL draft as well as a former first-round pick. Urho Vaakanainen was drafted 18th overall in 2017 by the Boston Bruins. He’s played in just 141 NHL games, and has 25 career points.
The real magic here isn’t in the return. Dumping Trouba and his $8 million dollar contract is addition by subtraction, because it gives New York salary cap space to work with as they seek to continue to improve their roster.
Anaheim’s Grade: F
Oh, boy. Anaheim’s rebuild is never going to end, is it? They haven’t made the playoffs since 2019. They’ve had six top-ten draft picks in that time frame. It’s moves like this one that make you realize that Anaheim made their bed.
Let’s go through all of Anaheim’s miscues here, shall we? First of all, they took on the whole contract. Okay, fine. They must have at least gotten a draft pick for their troubles, right? Wrong! They actually gave up a pick, and a depth defenseman to go along with it!
What on earth are the Ducks doing? God only knows.
