Jacob Trouba was traded from the New York Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Earlier Friday, the Rangers announced that Trouba, the team’s captain, would not be in the lineup for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins due to roster management reasons, leaving the defenseman’s future with the team unclear. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said the team decided to go in a different direction.

“I think our team needs some direction,” Laviolette said. “We’re not playing well at the moment. I think if you don’t have the success you want, you have to go in a different direction. That was the decision.”

Trouba, 30, has one season remaining on the seven-year, $56 million contract (average annual value of $8 million) he signed with the Rangers as a restricted free agent on July 19, 2019, after being replaced by a Traded with the Rangers, the Winnipeg Jets were acquired. The Ducks will take over the remainder of the contract.

“Anaheim was one of the places my wife and I were interested in,” Trouba said. “Just everything about it. Where the team is at, I think they have a great chance in the next few years. It’s a similar situation to when I came to New York, with really good young players ready to take on the next step, and if there’s anything I can do to contribute to that, I think that’s mine goal is.

“Obviously I’m friends with Frank (Vatrano) and Ryan Strome, so those are two guys I’ve talked to in the past. I’m still pretty good friends with them and have spoken to them over the last couple of years. “So obviously I know what they’re saying about the organization and they have a lot of praise for the players and the team. It is an organization that is ready to take the next real step and hopefully this is another step in the right direction.”

New York (13-10-1) has a 1-6-0 record in its last seven games, including a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday when Trouba played 16:45. He played a season-low 13:37 in the 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy last season for the league’s best record and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, are in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and currently hold the Eastern Conference’s second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It’s not meant to be a message (to the rest of the team),” Laviolette said before the trade. “I think everyone understands where we have been in the last month and how we have played. We can’t continue on this path or we’ll be eliminated from the playoffs. The best thing is that we have to find a way to get us back up the table and we haven’t played well. I didn’t see it that way, but it’s a change.