Deen’s Daily: Trouba Threatened With Waivers, Traded to Anaheim; Avalanche Face Red Wings in Detroit

The Jacob Trouba era in the Big Apple came to a crashing halt on Friday. Following weeks of trade rumors and drama surrounding the captain, Trouba finally agreed to waive his no-trade clause so general manager Chris Drury could offload the 30-year-old defenseman and his $8 million cap hit. Trouba was sent to the Anaheim Ducks for Uro Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick.

The Rangers reportedly tried to trade Trouba to the Detroit Red Wings over the offseason but he stopped the deal with his no-trade clause. His name resurfaced recently as Drury had reportedly sent a memo to other GMs that both Trouba and teammate Chris Kreider were being made available.

But after all this time — the back and forth between team and club — how did we finally get here?

“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 told reporters. “I would choose my family 100 times over again. I don’t feel bad about that. I was happy about it. I don’t like that it was made public necessarily or how everything unfolded so publicly, but I guess that’s part of New York and what happens. It made it difficult to play, kind of with that hanging over everything.

“The result is the result. I’m happy with moving forward, but I’m not overly thrilled with how it went down. In my opinion, things could’ve been handled better. I’m not blaming anybody or anything, just kind of how it happened I thought was kind of unfortunate.

Trouba was given several landing spots to mull over and agreed to sleep on it the day before the trade. Ultimately, the Rangers told him he’d be placed on waivers if he didn’t select one of the destinations and waive his no-trade clause.

“It was a threat,” he said.

The Rangers quickly finished a massive bit of business shortly after the trade, signing Igor Shesterkin to the largest contract for a goalie in NHL history. His deal is for the max term eight years and pays him $92 million ($11.5 million AAV).

Around the NHL

Colorado Hockey Now: Can the Avs finally turn it around? They’ve got an easier opponent tonight, facing off against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. This will be my first Avs game since Nov. 11 and I’m genuinely excited to get back to covering games in person.

But first, check out my 10 Observations from the Avs’ 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 50% off sale for a CHN+ annual membership ends on Sunday. This is your chance to lock in the $19.99/year rate.

Chicago Hockey Now: Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson met with local media Friday to discuss the coaching change and why it was made.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Somewhat lost in all the hoopla around Trouba was the fact that the Rangers had a game to play that same night. They collectively worked together to gain two points in the standings despite everything, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Jack and Quinn Hughes are both going to play for Team USA in February. But what about the third Hughes brother?