The New York Rangers have officially shaken things up.
A couple of weeks ago, the Oilers dismantled the Rangers with a 6-2 win that sent the blue and red into a tailspin. Following that loss, it was reported that the team’s front office made it clear that they were interested in making moves and shaking up their roster and that veteran players weren’t off the table.
With the team in a stretch that’s seen losses in six of seven games, New York traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenceman Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional fourth-round draft pick.
Trouba was selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the ninth overall pick in the 2012 draft from the United States Development Program. The Michigan native spent six seasons in Winnipeg and was traded to the Rangers following the 2018-19 season in exchange for defenceman Neal Pionk and a first-round pick. He inked a seven-year, $56 million contract extension one month after being acquired by New York and was named captain ahead of the 2022-23 season.
As Frank Seravalli noted, the Rangers didn’t have to retain any money from Trouba’s contract, which has one more season left with a salary cap hit of $8 million. The first six years of Trouba’s contract had a full no-movement clause but that changed into a 15-team no-trade list for 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Coming back to the Rangers in return is defenceman Urho Vaakanainen. Selected by the Bruins with the 18th overall pick in the 2017 draft, the Finnish defender was among the package the Ducks got in return when they traded Hampus Lindholm to Boston during the 2021-22 season.
Vaakanainen has one goal and 25 points over 141 games at the NHL level while logging an average of 17:30 per game. He’s not going to fill the same amount of minutes that Trouba played, but Vaakanainen will give the Rangers a solid player for their third defensive pairing on an inexpensive contract.
For Anaheim, this gives a young team devoid of any clear direction a leader with experience playing on successful teams. The Ducks are in last place in the Pacific Division with a 10-11-3 record and they appear to be on their way to missing the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.
With the freed-up financial flexibility, the Rangers inked star goaltender Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year contract extension. The former Vezina Trophy winner was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career next summer.
Selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, the native of Moscow, Russia has a .920 save percentage in 231 career games with New York. So far this season, Shesterkin has made 18 starts and has a .908 save percentage, which is on pace to be the lowest mark since he entered the league in 2019-20.
The Rangers have a  13-10-1 record and sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division. The team has lost in the Eastern Conference Final in two of their last three seasons.

Other news and notes from around the NHL…

  • Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is set to return to the team’s lineup on Friday against the Dallas Stars after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury. Though the 32-year-old has played only 13 of the Golden Knights’ 27 games this season, he ranks third on the team in scoring with 21 points. Missing regular season time because of injury is nothing new for Stone, who appeared in 56 games in 2023-24, up from the 43 games he played in 2022-23 and 37 games played in 20221-22. Vegas leads the Pacific Division with a 17-7-3 record.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Luke Richardson on Thursday following a loss earlier this week that put the rebuilding team at 8-16-2 on the season. The team added a handful of veterans through free agency this summer, including Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, and T.J. Brodie, with the goal of taking a step forward in Connor Bedard’s second season in the league. Instead, the Hawks rank dead last in the league standings and are looking at another top pick rather than a push for the playoffs. Chicago promoted Anders Sorensen from their AHL affiliate in Rockford to replace Richardson, who posted a 57-118-15 record in parts of three seasons as head coach of the Blackhawks.