Jacob Trouba's Tenure As A New York Ranger Comes To A Crashing Halt As Captain Is Shipped To Anaheim

Bruce Bennett. Getty Images.

Offical trade call with the league hasn't happened yet, so still pending that approval, but it will be defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick to the Rangers for Trouba.
Ducks take on full Trouba contract. No salary retained by Rangers.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 6, 2024

Drastic times…

Trouba fought tooth and nail to avoid a trade this summer. I was a proponent of it. Not because of the player himself but because I tend to fall on the side of players in general. Organizations will do whatever it takes to get rid of you, regardless of whatever security you think you & your agent negotiated in your contract. Barclay Goodrow had a NTC that Rangers GM Chris Drury wiped his ass with when throwing his remaining 3 years on waivers for the Sharks to claim. So if you have any leverage as a player to get what YOU want, go for it. But when it's all said and done the brass wins one way or another. Troubs bought himself one last shot to stick but proved he's nothing more than an $8M negative in any on-ice situation. The Blueshirts season has fallen off the rails and, although it's not ALL is fault, shedding him alone is addition by subtraction. Presented with the option of "accept one of these trades or get claimed on waivers", the Rangers lame duck fittingly decided the best of the unwanted destinations is Anaheim.

And this obviously isn't happening just because of a November 5-game losing streak. Their Cup window is right now but, based on this recent stretch exposing all the same warts that have ended prior chases prematurely, this core as currently constructed can't be trusted to push any further than their ECF failures. Trouba was the biggest movable salary while also being the easiest to replace on ice. Drury had no choice. It's not a great look when we're talking about the captain of a contender, but it's a worse look to ignore your squad's shortcomings or continue to expect things to change on their own.

I was happy with the signing when it happened. "…although you could argue the price is high now, it’s not a crippling number and one that can pretty easily look like a bargain in a couple years if #8 hasn’t improbably plateaued at 25." Oops.

I defended him too. "Besides, no one can be overpaid when your squad raises two Cups over the life of your contract." Yikes.

In the end, leadership aside, Jacob Trouba's tenure as a New York Ranger will only be remembered as going from bad to worse to abysmal to untenable & that's a shame. Even the biggest critic of giving him the bag five summers ago couldn't have predicted things would end up this poorly for the former top-ten pick. That page is turned though, and what the Blueshirts end up doing with their newfound cap space is anybody's guess. I'd say there's a 0.0% chance Brady Tkachuk could be traded (according to Larry Brooks, he's the ultimate target) but, prior to today, I'd have said there's a 0.0% chance there'd be a team willing to give up assets to absorb the entirety of Trouba's remaining contract so who the hell knows?

Regardless, a precedented yet cutthroat move has put the front office in the unusual position of being a contender with the means to maneuver for virtually anyone that might be available without the obstacle of cap gymnastics. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of significantly shaking up a roster that can immediately take this team further than they've been in a decade. Whether or not that's accomplished remains to be seen - but idly sitting by waiting on this iteration of the Blueshirts to "flip a switch" could not go on any longer.

VIVA LA BLUESHIRTS!!!