The On-Ice Impact of Jacob Trouba with the Ducks

As the Anaheim Ducks embark on a four-game road trip that will see them match up against the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets, they'll have a new face inserted into their lineup: former New York Rangers Captain Jacob Trouba.

Ducks Acquire Jacob Trouba From Rangers

On Friday, Dec. 6, the Rangers traded defenseman Trouba (30) to the Ducks in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen (25) and a 2025 fourth-round pick in one of the most high-profile and dramatic exits from an organization in recent memory.

There hasn't been a poor word spoken about Trouba, the person, from anyone who's shared a locker room or interacted with him.

"You don't just become the captain of the New York Rangers and not have excellent qualifications on and off the ice," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said shortly after acquiring Trouba on Friday.

“I know from talking to him, we’re going to have a highly motivated individual with a little bit of a weight off his shoulders who’s excited to play and a guy who wanted to play in Anaheim," said Ducks forward Ryan Strome after their 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Many stories have been and will be told about Trouba's leadership and his impact on the community he serves.

When the dust settles, and it comes time for Trouba to throw on an Anaheim Ducks sweater for the first time, what will be his fit, and what on-ice impact will he have on a Ducks team that now finds itself near the bottom of the NHL standings yet again and on a two-game skid?

Offense

Trouba hasn't filled scoresheets like he has in the past or like defensemen making $8 million against the salary cap typically do. Still, he's surprisingly active while his team has sustained pressure or when joining a rush.

Jacob Trouba on His Trade to Anaheim

He's not exactly fleet of foot, so his offensive contributions will boil down to timing, but in a season where the Ducks have been starved for offense, adding a player unafraid to activate, switch, rotate, and drive the center lanes will only open opportunities for the more dynamic playmakers in the lineup.

With the puck on his stick, his game is simple. When he's in the defensive and neutral zones, he prioritizes moving pucks north as quickly as he can or to his defensive partner, rarely electing to take more than a few strides up ice in possession or lead a rush.

Defense

Most fans of NHL hockey know the brand of defensive hockey Jacob Trouba is synonymous with: heavy, bone-crunching, borderline-threatening physical plays.

The Ducks have been striving to become a team harder for opponents to play against on a nightly basis, and Trouba certainly makes life difficult for those wearing a different jersey than his own.

He is astute in defensive zone coverage, wins a significant percentage of wall battles he's engaged in, and never misses an opportunity to finish a hit when his assignment moves the puck.

The front of the net is the least fun place to be on the ice when lined up against Trouba. He will use his 6-foot-3, 212-pound frame to box out opponents and punish them for attempting to get to the high-danger areas of the ice.

Where his tendencies differ from defensive textbook principles and teachings are against the rush. He tends to allow easy zone entry due to a large gap left between himself and the attackers. He matches speed ideally due to his lack of foot speed but relies on the diligence of his backcheckers to break up plays that threaten the middle of the ice.

When a puck carrier makes a move to the middle to set up a shot or pass, he's quick to close with an active stick and disrupt or lay his body down to block a shot.

Due to his distance from the rush, he does tend to get to a significant amount of dumped pucks and wins a high percentage of ensuing battles, but he struggles to ignite clean breakouts with a precise outlet.

Trouba is often slow to move up the ice after pucks are broken out. If neutral zone progression is disrupted, he tends to leave too much ice for opponents to gather speed on counterattacks.

Fit

The Ducks deploy more simplistic breakout and offensive zone tendencies than the Rangers. That could be a benefit for someone with Trouba's skill set. His activations will be welcome, and players like Troy Terry, Leo Carlsson, and Cutter Gauthier will have more space to operate.

Ducks' GM Pat Verbeek Speaks on Jacob Trouba Trade

The Rangers run a similar man-to-man defensive zone coverage scheme as the Ducks, so the transition should be relatively seamless for Trouba in that aspect.

Trouba will likely feature heavily on the Ducks' penalty kill, a unit that is 24th in the NHL with a 75.4% success rate. He was the most featured defenseman on a Rangers penalty kill that sits second in the NHL with an 85.5% success rate.

It's unclear who he'll be paired with on the Ducks blueline filled with young, offensively gifted left-shot defensemen, but the partner he had the most success with this season in New York was a technically proficient Braden Schneider. The player who most resembles Schneider's skill set may be Jackson LaCombe, but it's likely Trouba will see time with several defensive partners in his early days in Anaheim.

The Ducks are currently allowing the most expected goals per sixty minutes at 5v5 in the NHL with 3.15. Though his addition has created a log jam, and the Ducks now have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster, the dangerous chances they allow on a nightly basis could be diminished.

The downside, of course, is the likely possibility of two young defensemen sitting in the press box each game.

The fit, price tag, and repercussions can be quibbled with, but there was clearly a market for Jacob Trouba, and Pat Verbeek landed the defenseman he feels will positively impact his organization.

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