It's Official: New York Rangers Trade Captain Jacob Trouba To Anaheim Ducks

The New York Rangers traded defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

The Ducks take on Trouba's full $8-million cap hit for the final two seasons of his six-year contract. Heading back to the Rangers are defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

Anaheim currently has its fourth-rounder and a conditional fourth-rounder from the Detroit Red Wings (the earlier of Detroit's own 2025 fourth-rounder or Boston's fourth-rounder). The later of those picks will go to the Rangers, the Ducks announced.

“I want to sincerely thank Jacob for his contributions to the Rangers and our community,” said Rangers GM Chris Drury said in a press release. “Jacob has been an example on and off the ice for our organization and played a major role in our success over the last several years.

“Since coming to New York five years ago, and serving as Captain for the last three seasons, he has demonstrated grit, toughness, and tremendous leadership and we can’t thank Jacob enough for everything he has done for the Rangers.”

Trouba has a modified no-trade clause with 15 teams on his no-trade list, per PuckPedia. He reportedly waived his no-trade clause to make the move happen, per Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

“It’s rare you are able to acquire a player with Jacob’s experience, stature and ability,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said in the team's announcement. “On the ice he competes every shift, leads by example and is a presence on the blueline every night.”

Trouba’s name has been around the trade rumor mill for multiple months, dating back to the off-season. Now, GM Chris Drury has shipped the captain out of the lineup after throwing Trouba and Chris Kreider’s names in the mix.

Related: Are Big Changes Coming For The New York Rangers?

Before this campaign, the 6-foot-3 defenseman played five seasons for the Blueshirts. The 2021-22 season was Trouba’s best for the Rangers. He scored 11 goals and put up 39 points in 81 games. He also had a career-high plus-minus rating of plus-25.

This season, Trouba has six assists in 24 games. He’s averaging 20 minutes a game, the lowest in his career. In his last two games, he played less than 17 minutes, including 13:37 of ice time against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The Ducks will be Trouba’s third team, including the franchise that drafted him ninth overall in 2012, the Winnipeg Jets.

Vaakanainen, meanwhile, was drafted 18th overall in the 2017 draft by the Boston Bruins. He has one assist in five games for the Ducks this season and had a career-high 68 games, one goal, 13 assists and 14 points in 2023-24.

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Related: Are The Rangers' Trade Rumors A Wake-Up Call Or The Start Of Major Changes?