The captain of the New York Rangers is moving to the Anaheim Ducks

TARRYTOWN, NY – The New York Rangers have found a buyer for Jacob Trouba.

They send their captain to the Anaheim Ducks. In return, New York will receive defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick.

Most importantly, the Ducks will assume Trouba’s full $8 million salary cap hit for the remainder of this season and next. According to PuckPedia, this brings the Rangers’ available cap space to more than $8.5 million and puts them on track to raise over $27 million by the March 7 trade deadline.

The deal was finalized Friday after the Blueshirts barred the 30-year-old defenseman from morning skates before their 7:30 p.m. home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The situation had become increasingly untenable and the awkwardness continued when they tried to trade Trouba over the summer. He knew his days in New York were numbered and he likely wouldn’t stay for the final year of the seven-year contract he signed in 2019, as team president Chris Drury decided to rip the Band-Aid off now.

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Trouba’s approval is believed to have been necessary to complete a deal with the Ducks, who may have been on his 15-team no-trade list. Had he refused to do so, the Rangers likely would have placed him on waivers, allowing any team to claim him.

Trouba’s hometown Detroit Red Wings were also involved in the trade talks, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, but they didn’t have the wiggle room to make it work unless the Rangers agreed agree to keep part of his salary.

Of course, the problems go far beyond a single player. The sinking Rangers have lost six of their last seven games and are clinging to a wildcard spot by a point heading into Friday, but their captain is the first to fall on the sword.

Coach Peter Laviolette said he and Drury were “united in our minds” regarding Trouba’s move.

“It’s not supposed to be a message,” he said before the exchange. “I think everyone understands where we were last month and how we played. We can’t continue on this path or we’ll end up in the playoffs. The best thing is that we have to set a path that can get us back up the table.

Trouba made clear his strong preference to stay in New York as trade talks heated up over the summer, which several people around the league said scared off some teams.

How Trouba’s departure will play out in a locker room that has felt increasingly fragile of late is a matter of fate.

“As far as I know, this is a decision between the team and him,” center Mika Zibanejad said after it was announced that Trouba had been left out of the lineup. “As a player, as a teammate, as a friend and as a person, we love him more than anything.”

Chris Kreider, who was also contacted by Drury in recent weeks, admitted he was thinking about the situation but declined to comment.

“Not today,” he said. “We have to focus on winning a hockey game.”

Others recognized this as a potential distraction but expressed a desire to suppress it.

“It’s hard not to react when you hear things,” Zibanejad said. “But at the same time, I think many of us have been in a situation where there have been rumors and conversations. There really are a lot of these things that are out of control. The thing we can control is our game and the next game. And that’s what we have to do tonight.

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The captain of the New York Rangers is moving to the Anaheim Ducks

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