ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Jacob Trouba is finally out of New York after months of public trade rumors and private threats from the Rangers, who were determined to lose their captain and his massive contract.
Trouba wasn’t happy with the way he was chased out of town, but he says he’s thrilled to land with the Anaheim Ducks.
“It’s a rite of passage to be released from MSG,” Trouba said Friday after the Ducks acquired the veteran defenseman in exchange for defenseman Urho Veelanainen and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025.
The trade ends the 30-year-old Trouba’s five-year tenure with the Rangers. He has been a fixture in trade rumors for months, and he acknowledged that the uncertainty affected his play this fall.
“I don’t like that it’s necessarily been made public, but I think that’s New York and how it happens,” Trouba said. “It made it quite difficult to play, but I’m excited to move on. As far as I’m concerned, things could have been handled better. I don’t want to blame anyone or anything, but it was just an unfortunate end to my time in New York.”
Rangers general manager Chris Drury hasn’t hidden his desire to restart the roster since the summer, and Trouba is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $56 million contract. The physical blueliner’s hefty deal was a barrier to the move New York so desperately wanted, and Trouba also had a robust no-trade clause.
In a conference call set up by the Ducks to welcome their new defenseman, Trouba essentially confirmed the long-rumored news of his New York saga, including his decision to cancel a trade — reportedly to Detroit — last summer. He did it to support his wife Kelly, who is completing her three-year medical residency at a New York hospital.
“I’ll be honest: I had the opportunity this summer to make a decision between my career and my family, and I chose my family,” Trouba said. “I would choose my family again a hundred times.”
Trouba also confirmed that the Rangers told him this week that he had to accept a trade or be scratched. He also indicated that he was told he would eventually receive a waiver, leaving him unable to determine where he landed next.
“Yesterday morning was, ‘Accept this transaction or we’ll scratch you,’” Trouba said. “I got to a place where I felt comfortable at Anaheim, and that was the place I wanted to go.”
Trouba said his wife is also excited about the move to Southern California, calling it “a great long-term opportunity for her as well.” Trouba will join the last-place Ducks in Montreal on Monday for the opener of a four-game trip.
“It’s a team that’s about to take the next step and be really great, I think,” he added. “I can come in there and make an impact in a positive way. It’s just a city that I was really excited about coming to.”
Trouba joined the Rangers in a trade with Winnipeg in 2019, and became New York’s captain before the 2022-23 season.
Trouba is considered one of the NHL’s best defensemen at the height of his talents. He has six assists in 23 games this year while struggling to perform at the levels of his best seasons offensively, including a career-best 50 points with the Jets in 2018-19.
“I would like to sincerely thank Jacob for his contributions to the Rangers and our community,” Drury said in a statement. “Jacob has been an example on and off the ice for our organization and has played a major role in our success in recent years. … He has shown perseverance, toughness and tremendous leadership, and we can’t thank Jacob enough for everything he has done for the Rangers.
The Ducks can handle the final year and a half of Trouba’s deal because they have one of the NHL’s lowest payrolls and plenty of salary cap space after general manager Pat Verbeek failed to land a top free agent last summer.
Trouba will immediately be a key contributor on the blue line for the Ducks, who are in last place in the Pacific Division. He will also play alongside Anaheim forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano, his teammates on the Rangers, during the club’s run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2022.
“Jacob is a highly respected player in this league, whose character and leadership qualities on and off the ice are second to none,” said Verbeek. “We believe Jacob has many years left in this league and hope he will be a big part of our future success. It’s rare to acquire a player of Jacob’s experience, stature and skill. On the ice, he participates in every shift, sets a good example and is present on the blue line every night.”
The Ducks’ group of defensemen includes captain Radko Gudas, veteran Cam Fowler, free agent signee Brian Dumoulin and promising youngsters Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov and Jackson LaCombe.
Rebuilding Anaheim is still not a good team on offense or defense after six consecutive non-playoff seasons, but it has shown some statistical improvement defensively this season, allowing just 2.96 goals per game after last season conceded 3.57.
Veelanainen has not played since November 13 due to an upper-body injury. The veteran played 68 games and scored one goal for the Ducks last season, but was frequently injured during his career with Boston and Anaheim.
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