Newly acquired Anaheim Ducks blueliner Jacob Trouba told reporters Friday that the New York Rangers threatened to place him on waivers if he didn’t accept a trade from New York.

The 30-year-old Trouba was ultimately dealt to the Ducks in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The former Rangers captain would have lost his ability to choose his destination if he had been placed on waivers or potentially assigned to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

“It was a threat,” Trouba told reporters in his introductory conference call with the Ducks. “It got to a point where I felt comfortable in Anaheim and that was the place I wanted to go. I guess you could say I’m grateful they made it happen.”

“It’s a rite of passage being fired from Madison Square Garden,” Trouba joked. “I don’t blame anyone or anything, but the way it happened, I felt like it was kind of an unfortunate end to a lot of good times in New York.”

Trouba is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $56 million contract with an annual cap hit of $8 million. He had a full no-transfer clause until the end of the 2023–24 season, but on July 1 this was converted into a modified no-trade clause, allowing him to suggest 15 teams that he could reject.

The 6-foot-2 right-back was rumored to be available in the offseason and defended his intention to stay in New York on Friday.

“I’ll be honest, this summer I had to make a decision between my career and my family, and I chose my family,” Trouba said. “I would choose my family 100 times again. I don’t feel bad about it. I didn’t like that it was necessarily made public or how it all played out so publicly, but I think that’s part of New York and what’s happening.”

The Rangers were in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 13-10-1 heading into Friday’s game, and general manager Chris Drury specifically cited Trouba and forward Chris Kreider as possibilities for big changes on Nov. 26.

Trouba has six assists in 24 games this season while averaging 20 minutes of ice time.