Ducks Acquire Jacob Trouba From Rangers

What a whirlwind of a morning. Today, at 9:31 a.m. PST, NHL insider Chris Johnston tweeted that New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba would not be on the ice today due to roster management purposes. A little over two hours later, he is now a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

Rangers And Ducks Reportedly Finalizing A Trade For Jacob Trouba

Trouba’s acquisition sends defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick to the Rangers in return. The Rangers will receive the lower of the two fourth-round picks that the Ducks have. They acquired an extra fourth-round pick this past summer in the Robby Fabbri deal.

Vaakanainen played in just five games this season for the Ducks, serving primarily as a depth defenseman. He is currently working his way back from an upper-body injury that he suffered last month, but he did take part in the Ducks’ morning skate today.

At surface level, this trade is a bit puzzling. It does add another right-handed shot to the mix and provides Anaheim with another veteran leader with playoff experience. However, Anaheim’s blue line is already crowded as it is with Cam Fowler’s recent return and Drew Helleson’s stellar play since being recalled from the AHL.

Related: Ducks’ Helleson Has Make or Break Opportunity With Latest Call-up

Pavel Mintyukov has been a casualty to the numbers game lately as he sits out his second consecutive game as a healthy scratch tonight. With the addition of Trouba, it means that another young defenseman—or two—will be out of the lineup.

A physical player who toes the line more often than not, Trouba’s play has also declined, a reason why a move was explored for him by Rangers general manager Chris Drury in the first place.

Perhaps this deal precedes another deal that sends a different defenseman out. There have been reports from numerous NHL insiders about Cam Fowler being open to a trade due to his eventual reduced role with the emergence of blueliners like Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger and Jackson LaCombe.

Adding Trouba’s $8 million salary allows the Ducks to ship out Fowler’s $6.5 million salary without needing to retain in order to stay above the cap floor. Moving Fowler would also allow Zellweger to shift back to his natural left side and create three lefty-righty pairs.