Rangers Ship Captain Jacob Trouba To Ducks And, Miraculously, Did It Without Retaining Salary

Well… that went down quickly.

Just hours after news broke that the New York Rangers had kept captain Jacob Trouba off the ice during morning skate ahead of the team's Friday night game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was clear that the team was on the verge of cutting a deal to end the 30-year-old's tenure on Broadway.

It turns out that despite rumors that teams like the Sabres, Senators, and Blue Jackets were interested in the hard-hitting defenseman's services, the Rangers ultimately cut a deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks get Trouba, who had fallen down the Rangers' roster due to a lack of production and was commonly used as a third-pair defenseman in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen — who you've got to assume will slot into Trouba's spot in the Rangers lineup, and crucially, at a much lower price point — and a fourth-round pick in 2025.

The wildest thing to me is that I have no idea how Chris Druty pulled this off without retaining some of Trouba's $8 million cap hit.

I mean, think about it: they're trading him because he's under-performing and costs a lot of money. So, why would most other teams want to pay that same price?

Well, it seems the Ducks had no problem with it, likely because, according to PuckPedia, they've got $20 million in cap space right now. Their being able to take on Trouba's entire deal without much consideration would certainly help make them an attractive trade partner.

Trouba is on the sixth year of a seven-year deal, which means that the Ducks — a pretty young team that will have some players it'll need to lock up longer-term in the next few years — can pay Trouba for the next season and a half or so, without much risk.

If it works out, the Ducks can re-sign him at a better rate. If it doesn't, they can try to deal him at the deadline in 2026 or just let him walk.

I think this is a good deal all around. The Ducks' blue line isn't as deep as the Rangers' is, so Trouba will be a step up for them, while the Rangers managed to clear some major cap space.

And for Trouba, well, he doesn't get placed on waivers and wind up getting buried in the minors, a la Wade Redden in 2011…

It sure looks like a win-win for now, we'll see how it all pans out.