The New York Rangers have traded defenseman Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, the teams announced Friday, ending a tense few months of speculation about their captain’s future.

The Ducks sent defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick to the Rangers for Trouba. Sources told ESPN that Anaheim will assume Trouba’s entire contract, which has an average annual value of $8 million through the 2025-26 season.

The Rangers will receive either the Ducks’ or Detroit Red Wings’ fourth-round pick, whichever is lower in the draft order.

“I would like to sincerely thank Jacob for his contributions to the Rangers and our community,” general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. “Jacob was a role model for our organization on and off the ice and has contributed significantly to our success in recent years. Since arriving in New York five years ago and serving as captain for the past three seasons, he has shown courage, toughness and great leadership, and we can’t thank Jacob enough for everything he has done for the Rangers did.

Trouba had been held out of Rangers’ practice and Friday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins for “roster management purposes” as the team attempted to move him. The 30-year-old defenseman had a 15-team no-trade clause in his contract.

The Rangers offered him several possible trades. The Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabers had all recently spoken to the Rangers about Trouba, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Forcing Trouba to trade meant threatening to be placed on waivers and taking away all control of a trade as leverage to force a decision.

New York is 13-10-1 this season, fourth in the Metropolitan Division and in the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. But the team is on a roll and has suffered six regulation losses in seven games.

In late November, Drury sent a memo to all 31 other teams announcing that the Rangers were open for business. He specifically mentioned Trouba and veteran forward Chris Kreider as trade possibilities. The Rangers tried to sign Trouba in the summer, but no deal was made.

Trouba has six assists and a minus-3 rating while averaging 20 minutes per game this season, which was his sixth with the Rangers. In the 2022/23 season he took over as captain of the Rangers.

He fills some needs for Anaheim. Trouba can be an experienced mentor to a number of young defensemen on the Ducks’ roster and system. He joins Radko Gudas as another ferocious hitter on their blue line. Although Trouba’s defensive performance has declined, he could help improve one of the worst 5-on-5 defenses in the NHL this season. The Ducks are allowing 3.14 expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, last in the NHL and the only team to average more than 3 expected goals against this season.

Trouba also returns to Anaheim to join his former Rangers teammates Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano.

“Jacob is a highly valued player in this league whose character and leadership skills on and off the ice are unmatched,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “We believe Jacob will play in this league for many years to come and hope he plays a big part in our future success.”

For the Rangers, removing Trouba’s money from their salary cap will allow them to pursue any number of trades to help the team immediately or later. Potentially at the top of their need: a winger for center Mika Zibanejad and linemate Kreider, both of whom have struggled this season.

Vaakanainen is in his seventh NHL season but has only played 141 games for the Boston Bruins and Ducks. He has one assist in five games this season, a combination of missing time due to an upper-body injury and being a healthy scratch. The 25-year-old is making $1.1 million against the salary cap and is an unrestricted free agent after this season.