The New York Rangers Refused to Acquire Top-4 Defensemen From the Anaheim Ducks in the Jacob Trouba Trade

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Julien Trekker
December 9, 2024 (2:46 PM)

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According to Elliotte Friedman, the New York Rangers refused the top-4 defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks in the recent Jacob Trouba trade.

The New York Rangers finally managed to trade Jacob Trouba and his $8 million AAV contract last week, after months of speculation.

He joined the Anaheim Ducks after being forced to waive his no-trade clause, and the Rangers got a fourth-round draft pick as well as the 25-year-old defenseman Urho Vaakanainen in return.

Trouba will finally play his first game as a member of the Anaheim Ducks tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. It'll be interesting to see how he performs in his new uniform.

In the latest 32 Thoughts episode, the insider Elliotte Friedman shed light on new details about the deal between the Ducks and the Rangers.

He stated that the Rangers had the opportunity to get Cam Fowler in return for Trouba.

The insider added that both the Ducks and Fowler wanted to get it done, but the Rangers preferred not, to free up cap space.

In Friedman's words:

"I heard that Anaheim wanted Fowler in this deal. I have no doubt Fowler wanted to be in this deal. It's been out there: he wants to be traded, he wants to play for a contender. I never heard Vatrano's name in it, but I did hear Fowler's.

At the end of the day, they couldn't get it done. I think one of the reasons is New York wanted the flexibility for both this year and next."

Indeed, with General Manager Chris Drury's clever move, the Rangers freed up $6.9 million on the salary cap.

After the trade, the organization didn't waste time to sign their star goaltender Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year, $11.5 million contract.

Fowler has another season on his $6,500,000 AAV contract after this one. It's easy to see why the Rangers wanted to go in another direction.

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DECEMBRE 9 \| 159 ANSWERS The New York Rangers Refused to Acquire Top-4 Defensemen From the Anaheim Ducks in the Jacob Trouba Trade Do you believe the New York Rangers made the right call by turning down Cam Fowler in the Jacob Trouba trade?
Yes	94	59.1 %
No	65	40.9 %
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