Yesterday might have been the Rangers’ busiest day in recent memory. After a five game losing streak and losing five out of six, the Rangers had three days off, but it was not without drama as General Manager Chris Drury “let slip” that the Rangers were floating Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider in rumors. Then on Friday morning, news broke a Trouba trade was being finalized, and if he didn’t accept one of several proposed trades, he’d go on waivers. As per usual, I have thoughts.
1. The final Trouba trade wound up being Trouba to Anaheim, with no salary retained, for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 4th round pick. The conditions are the worse of the two 4th rounders Anaheim has, either their own or Detroit’s, so it’s likely to be Detroit’s. Considering the Rangers didn’t have any picks in rounds 2-4 before the trade, the pick actually does matter.
Trouba trade was desperately needed
2. Talking low hanging fruit first, the trade is a big win for the Rangers. It was clear that the Trouba trade was necessary. The drama in the offseason may have passed, but the maturity went with it. Trouba was simply unable to limit distractions, and his role as captain exacerbated the issue. A clear lame duck captain, he no longer had the room and it was starting to impact the locker room. Once that happens, something needs to be done.
3. Drury wanted to finalize a Trouba trade in the offseason, but it was rumored trade talks soured when it was reported that Trouba “wouldn’t report” to his new team. That turned out to be flat out wrong, and Trouba simply leveraged the situation to use his contractual rights to alter his NTC and block a trade. That is not on Trouba, that is on Drury for tipping his hand.
The way the Trouba situation was managed this summer is up there with the Pavel Buchnevich trade as a dark stain on Drury’s tenure as GM. Luckily it was resolved before too much damage could be done. There was nothing wrong with Trouba exercising his negotiated no-trade. Just as there was nothing wrong with Drury threatening waivers, his only recourse, if Trouba didn’t accept one of the destinations placed in front of him.
4. The Trouba trade wasn’t necessarily the planned end result when the Rangers initially dealt Neal Pionk and a 1st round pick for him. But in hindsight, a Trouba trade was always the end result once the Rangers landed Adam Fox and he turned into, well, Adam Fox.
The reasoning is simple: The Rangers misread Trouba’s skill set and role. Trouba had always been a 1D in Winnipeg as a puck mover and powerplay quarterback. With Fox, the Rangers didn’t need that, and saw Trouba’s size and physicality and deemed him a defensive, shutdown defenseman. This was simply not the case, and three Rangers coaches and two GMs made this mistake. It’s a gross miscalculation of his skill set, and really illustrates an organizational need to properly evaluate NHL defense talent.
5. In the end, a Trouba trade to Anaheim was completed, though he rejected a trade to Columbus, likely with an Ivan Provorov return. A player on Detroit also declined to waive his no-trade, and given the return from Anaheim, it’s safe to say it was one of Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot, or Justin Holl. Smart money is on Chiarot, but Petry is the expiring contract of the trio.
Presented a choice between Anaheim, Columbus, or a roll of the dice with waivers, Trouba chose Anaheim. Looking at the waiver order, this was probably the most likely destination anyway. Three teams would have needed to pass on Trouba though. Likely, but still not a guarantee.
Trade return was much better than expected
6. As for the Trouba trade itself, the big win was not retaining any salary. For those wondering why Anaheim didn’t ask the Rangers to retain salary, the answer is they didn’t need to. Even after the trade they have around $13 million in cap space, so they could take on another Trouba and still be fine. Why spend an asset–another draft pick–for a perk you don’t need? It’s like buying the extended warranty on a TV, sure you can do it, but it’s a waste of money.
Also for those wondering why Anaheim would even make the Trouba trade, Trouba provides critical leadership that Anaheim was lacking, and he’s probably a better fit in a less aggressive system. I’d expect Trouba’s numbers to turn around a bit. But the main perk I can think of is either this trade deadline or next, where Trouba will fetch far more than Vaakanainen would have. It’s asset management.
7. As for Vaakanainen, he’s a serviceable defense-first bottom pairing guy. He’s not going to push play up the ice, nor is he going to be appearing on many score sheets, but he’s decent enough in his own end with a good enough first pass that he should be a net-upgrade on Drury. He’s also a better skater, which probably fits Laviolette’s forecheck (2-1-2 and 1-3-1) and defensive zone (hybrid man-zone) systems much better, assuming he plays regularly as the 3RD with Zac Jones.
8. Vaakanainen is a serviceable body that fixes the bottom pair for sure, and it allows Victor Mancini to get more time in the AHL to fine tune his game. But perhaps the biggest win of the Trouba trade was the $6.9 million in cap space gained–Vaakanainen’s $1.1 million subtracted from Trouba’s $8 million–gained as a part of the trade. It allowed the Rangers to recall Matthew Robertson as a 7D last night, and it gives the Rangers far more flexibility to make deadline trades.
The Rangers are now projected to have $21.9 million in cap space at the deadline and an extra $8 million for the 2025 offseason (I had projected an $11.5 million contract for Igor Shesterkin in my offseason projections, so that doesn’t change). That’s a lot of money to make big moves, and it looks like Drury isn’t done yet.
One thing the Rangers can do, as a product of the Trouba trade, is use their cap space to help facilitate trades at the deadline as a third party for salary retention. They can launder money for up to 3 trades, and with the expected $21.9 million in cap space, can do so without worrying too much about their own deadline plans.
9. The end result is a messy divorce and the third straight Rangers captain that has been traded. The Trouba trade was a much needed move that, hopefully, jolts the Rangers in the right direction. Otherwise, expect more big time moves like this.
Recent Comments