The Jacob Trouba era with the Rangers came to an unceremonious end Friday.
New York traded its captain to the Anaheim Ducks, according to multiple reports. The Rangers landed defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional fourth-round pick in return for the veteran blueliner.
The Rangers were stuck in neutral through the first 24 games of the season, going 13-10-1, currently stuck in a tie for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, although the Philadelphia Flyers have two games in hand.
New York general manager tried to spark his team by putting out a memo to the rest of the league indicating Trouba and veteran forward Chris Kreider were available for trade. If the memo was a motivational tactic, it didn’t work. The Rangers went 1-4-0 after the memo, culminating with Friday’s swap.
The trade is no surprise. The Rangers and Trouba were engaged in a bit of a standoff due to Trouba’s no-trade clause. Reports indicated New York was willing to put Trouba on waivers before executing the trade.
Vaakanainen should ring a bell for Bruins fans. Boston drafted him with the 18th pick in the 2017 draft. He only played 31 games in the Black and Gold, though, before the Bruins traded him to Anaheim as part of the deal that brought Hampus Lindholm to Boston. Vaakanainen appeared in 110 games with Anaheim, averaging 17 minutes per night. He has only made five appearances this season while dealing with an upper-body injury. The Ducks placed him on injured reserve Wednesday.
