Trouba: Rangers exit ‘unfortunate,’ affected play

Defenseman Jacob Trouba called out the New York Rangers for how they handled his eventual trade to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, claiming months of public speculation impacted his ability to serve as the team’s captain.

“I wasn’t really thrilled with how it went down. In my opinion, things could have been handled better,” he said. “It’s unfortunate how it all happened. But it’s a rite of passage to get fired from MSG.”

Trouba, 30, was traded to the Ducks for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick. Anaheim takes on all of Trouba’s contract, which carries an $8 million average annual value through the 2025-26 season.

The Rangers had been trying to move Trouba since last offseason to open salary cap space and create more opportunities for their younger defensemen. Trouba had a no-movement clause in his contract until July, when it converted to a 15-team no-trade clause. Because of that trade protection, a deal didn’t materialize before this season.

“I was put in a situation this summer to make a decision between my career and my family,” he said. “I chose my family. I’d choose my family 100 times over again. I don’t feel bad about that.

“I don’t like that everything unfolded so publicly. I guess that’s part of New York.”

The Rangers have struggled recently, with six regulation losses in seven games entering Friday. In response to that lack of success, general manager Chris Drury sent a memo to 31 NHL teams saying he was ready to make trades, specifically mentioning forward Chris Kreider and Trouba as being available.

Trouba said the Rangers came to him Thursday morning and asked him to accept a trade or be scratched for their game Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Trouba did not participate in the Rangers’ morning skate Friday and wasn’t scheduled to play against Pittsburgh for “roster management purposes” but refused to waive his no-trade clause.

Trouba said his breaking point was when the Rangers told him to accept a trade or end up on waivers, from which his no-trade clause would not protect him.

“Yeah, it was a threat,” he said.

Drury used that tactic last summer with forward Barclay Goodrow, who had three years left on his contract. Goodrow was placed on waivers and claimed by the San Jose Sharks in a prearranged move.

If Trouba were put on waivers, he would lose any control over his next NHL destination.

Trouba and his family first discussed Anaheim as a possible next stop during the summer.

“There was going to be a trade at some point, and Anaheim was one of the places my wife and I were interested in,” he said.

After the threat of waivers, Trouba agreed to a trade, ending months of speculation that the defenseman said negatively impacted him on and off the ice. Trouba has six assists and a minus-3 rating while averaging 20 minutes this season, his sixth with the Rangers.

“It was difficult to play with that hanging over me,” he said.

Trouba also said his lame duck status made him an ineffective captain, a position he had held with the Rangers since the 2022-23 season.

“I was pretty open with players on the team,” he said. “Leading was a little bit harder for me in that situation, knowing things were public.”

For the Rangers, trading Trouba’s full contract gave them financial clarity for this season and next. Hours after the trade, they signed star goalie Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year contract extension with an $11.5 million average annual value that begins in 2025-26. It’s the highest cap hit for a goalie in NHL history.

And Friday night, they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2, returning to an MSG dressing room that no longer had Trouba’s nameplate inside of it.

“It’s always tough when you lose a guy, especially when it’s the captain and a leader on the team,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “When you’re losing like this, you take blame on yourself when stuff like this happens. It’s a business, and management has to do something when you continue to lose.

“It’s sad, but it’s on us to be better. We love each other in here. We want everyone to stay in this locker room. That’s what it’s going to take in order to do that.”

Trocheck said that Trouba didn’t let the stress of the past few months of trade speculation “slip into the team” as captain.

“But you can imagine when you’re in one of the biggest hockey markets in the league and the captain and those kind of rumors are out there, it’s got to be extremely tough to put on a brave face, come to the rink and be that leader every day,” he said.

With the Trouba trade behind them and a big win against a division rival, Trocheck said there was a sense of relief in the Rangers locker room.

“There has been a cloud over our heads for a little while,” he said. “When you lose games, that’s what happens. And it takes wins like this — and more passion and emotion out of everybody — to get rid of that.”

For Trouba, the trade offers a fresh start with a young team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2018 — one that he compared favorably to the retooling Rangers squad he joined after New York acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets in 2018. He said having two former teammates in Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano on the Ducks will make the transition easier, as well.

While the end of his tenure with the Rangers left him bitter, Trouba said he’ll have fond memories from his time there.

“I loved it,” he said. “The captaincy was extremely special. Two conference finals. Even more so, I had no clue what New York City was when I got here and I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person. There will always been a piece of my heart in New York.”