ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jacob Trouba is finally out of New York after months of public trade rumors and private threats from the Rangers, who were determined to get rid of their captain and his massive contract.
Trouba was not pleased with the way he was run out of town, but he says he's quite happy to land with the Anaheim Ducks.
''It's a rite of passage to get fired from MSG,'' Trouba said Friday after the Ducks acquired the veteran defenseman in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025.
The trade ends the 30-year-old Trouba's five-year tenure with the Rangers. He has been a fixture in trade rumors for months, and he acknowledged that the uncertainty affected his play this fall.
''Don't like that it was made public necessarily, but I guess that's New York and how it happens," Trouba said. "Made it kind of hard to play, but I'm excited to move forward. In my opinion, things could have been handled better. Not blaming anybody or anything, but it was just kind of an unfortunate end to my time in New York.''
Rangers general manager Chris Drury hasn't tried to hide his desire for a roster reboot since the summer, and Trouba is in the sixth season of a seven-year, $56 million contract. The physical blueliner's hefty deal has been an impediment to the movement New York wanted so desperately, and Trouba also had a robust no-trade clause.
In a conference call set up by the Ducks to welcome their new defenseman, Trouba essentially confirmed the long-rumored details of his New York saga, including his decision to nix a trade — reportedly to Detroit — last summer. He did it to support his wife, Kelly, who is completing her three-year medical residency at a New York hospital.
''I'll be honest, I was put in a position this summer to make a decision between my career and my family, and I chose my family,'' Trouba said. ''I would choose my family 100 times over again.''