"Said no to Columbus": Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette weigh in on Rangers' handling of Jacob Trouba trade

Spittin' Chiclets podcast hosts Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette discussed the New York Rangers’s trade of captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. The Rangers traded him for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick. The Ducks will take on the remaining salary of his contract.

In Episode 535 of the podcast, Whitney explained that the Rangers had tried to trade Trouba earlier, but he used his no-trade clause to block a move by saying it was for his family. He found it surprising that Trouba was moved without the Rangers retaining his salary.

[31:32] "All of a sudden, it was reported that Jacob Trouba, for roster management, was going to be sat or wasn't going to be playing," Whitney said. "(It was) because they had a deal in place, they were going to trade him."

"This all comes, kind of to fruition after the summer when it was reported that they told him, We want to trade you. He had a no-trade clause. He blocked it for his family."

"He ends up going on after to mention, after the trade, yeah, I made the decision for my family at 100% do it the next time as well..... Surprising to see him able to be moved and the Rangers not have to retain any salary," he added.

Trouba's game time on the ice was limited this season, with just 16:45 in a 5-1 loss to the Devils and a season-low 13:37 against the Canadiens. He had played six seasons with the Rangers and served as captain since 2022.

Bissonnette mentioned that the Rangers may have used a waiver threat to push Trouba to accept the Anaheim trade. To which Whitney explained the situation, saying,

"He said no to going to Columbus. That was the first deal in place." Whitney said. "He said no to that. And then probably the threat came, like, buddy, you're going on waivers. And then, okay, I'll go to Anaheim."

Whitney added that Trouba called being traded a “badge of honor” after leaving MSG.

Elliotte Friedman feels Jacob Trouba's trade "threatened with waivers"

On Monday's episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman talked about Jacob Trouba’s trade out from the NY Rangers. Friedman said the Rangers pressured Trouba by threatening waivers if he didn’t accept a trade.

"They were all talking about what was going on with Trouba... it turned out correctly, that Trouba was threatened with waivers if he didn't accept a deal," Friedman said.

Jacob Trouba said he was excited about the trade, mentioning that Anaheim's young roster and future potential motivated his decision. He had 136 points in 364 games for New York.