IRVINE, Calif. – One year and one week ago, Anaheim Ducks teammates Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano were strolling in Newport Beach’s Fashion Island.
The pair had joined up unplanned to enjoy getting Christmas photos taken with their families, and while taking in their quiet bit of down time, Strome’s phone rang up with a familiar face to the both of them: New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba.
“I’m like, what the hell does this guy want?” Strome said. “I haven’t talked to him in a while.”
What Trouba wanted was a peek into the Orange County life his former teammates were living, as change was in the wind at Madison Square Garden with their longtime friend possibly blowing to the West Coast.
Fast forward 372 days later, and Vatrano says that Trouba “has not changed one bit” from the 15-year-old kid he first met all those years ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
However, it has been a whirlwind year of change for Trouba going from being the captain of the New York Rangers, to suddenly being healthy scratched and given an ultimatum to accept a trade, to leaving his family midseason to play the second half of a floundering season with the Ducks.
Now, the 31-year-old defenseman is set to return to Madison Square Garden on Monday to face the Rangers for the first time since that trade with his family settled on the West Coast, his on-ice play back to form and his Ducks tied for first place in the Pacific Division.
“Obviously, you went back to the place you played for a while–I did it with Winnipeg–and there’s obviously feelings and emotions that come with that,” Trouba said after Ducks practice last Saturday. “Living in New York for those years of your life and having the opportunity to play on MSG and do the whole thing in New York City is an unbelievable experience. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about my time there, the people and everything that transpired.”
Trouba ultimately labelled the circumstances of his exit as a “small blip” on those good times he had over parts of six seasons as a Ranger with parts of three seasons as New York’s captain.
“You don’t take it lightly,” Trouba said. “I think when I ended up getting traded there. It was, those are the big lights. It’s crazy. There’s so much going on. It’s fun. It’s such a unique place, and obviously being captain of that team was also pretty cool, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Nothing I ever, ever took for granted.”
“It’s New York City, you’re kind of the pressure cooker of the media. Not everybody gets to experience that. Come out on the other side and be a better person for it, and learn from that, and look back on it with some gratitude.”
Ultimately, for all the deep playoff runs and magical Madison Square Garden moments, Trouba’s Rangers tenure did not end in the most amicable fashion.
Trouba had reportedly turned down a trade to Detroit before the start of the season, and when the Rangers got off to a tough start, the discord between management and the roster continued. Trouba’s December trade became the first domino down a path that also led franchise legend Chris Kreider, who also makes his MSG return on Monday, to be traded to Orange County after the season.
The midseason upheaval was difficult on the passionate Trouba, which made for a tough transition from the sky-high Manhattan ambitions to a young suburban Anaheim team that was still finding its footing.
“Last year was obviously tough for me,” Trouba said. “I think you go into a season, and I’m kind of all in on that team and what we built there, and obviously being the captain of that team, and that changes, and, I mean, you’re kind of heartbroken. It’s very tough to just flip a switch and come into a new environment, and there’s a lot of years and energy and time spent trying to build what we wanted to accomplish there. Didn’t get it done, ended up coming here.”
What Trouba needed was time–time for a mental and physical reset, time for his family to join him in full and time to find a new focus on a new group.
“Obviously, a tough time probably for me to just get through,” Trouba said, “but they’re coming on the other side, taking summer to reflect on everything and process everything. It all happens so fast, and now being out here, I love it. It’s fun. Family’s here. Everybody loves it. The team’s great where we are, the direction we’d headed. I feel like I’m very happy to be here. This year’s been a lot of fun.”
Whether it’s players that have been in the Anaheim rebuild project for several years, or the former Rangers that have soaked in a change of scenery, “fun” has been the optimal word for the 2024-25 Ducks and their new mentality.
There is a levity to the Anaheim locker room that was hard to find last season, for Ducks and Rangers alike.
Final/OT: Ducks 4, Golden Knights 3
JACOB TROUBA?! What’re you doing up there?! Trouba’s fourth goal of the season gets the Ducks’ sixth straight win, and Anaheim is all alone on top of the Pacific Division.
Ducks host Winnipeg tomorrow night. @SportingTrib | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/vMfbK6NkGQ
— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) November 9, 2025
“Last year’s kind of a blur,” Kreider said. “He doesn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders. I think it’s an incredibly hard thing to do, to be the captain in that city. It’s an incredible honor, something that I think–I can’t put words in his mouth–I don’t think he would have changed anything for a second, but I think there’s a lot of responsibility that goes along with that.”
“Being able to come out here and, and just play, not worry about some of those things. I think it might be a little bit easier. Can’t put words in his mouth, but he seems like he’s, yeah, a little bit lighter.”
Whether he’s lighter on his feet or simply lighter mentally, Trouba has certainly been a different kind of force for the Ducks on the blue line this season.
In 53 games with Anaheim last season, Trouba notched one goal and seven assists with a minus-5 rating. With Trouba on the ice at five-on-five, the Ducks earned 44.18% of shot attempts and 44.39% of the expected goals.
In 31 games this season, Trouba already has five goals (his most in a full season since 2022-23) and 14 points (matching his season total last year) with a plus-14 rating (his first positive rating since 2022-23). Trouba is also playing with his signature physical edge once again.
With Trouba on the ice at five-on-five, the Ducks have earned 52.07% of shot attempts (his first season over 50% since 2022-23) and 55.48% of the expected goals (his first season over 50% since 2017-18 in Winnipeg).
That kind of bounce back has not gone unnoticed by his teammates, old and new.
“I talk about Chris, I talk about Troubs, and we talked about myself earlier, we’ve all got healthy scratched in our 30s,” Strome said. “I think when you see the way Troubs and Kreids are playing now, and you see how they go through those ups and downs, how they handle them, and how they carry themselves, I think those things are the things that you remember your whole career if you’re a young guy. Those guys have always been role models for me and the way they hear themselves, and I think it’s rubbed off on everybody in the room.”
For all that Trouba has done on the scoresheet in 2024-25, there’s much more off of it that makes for a winning environment, and it all comes back to things as simple as being able to smile.
Those smiles come from longtime friends, like Vatrano, who joked that he and Trouba probably spend “too much time” together between the rink, the team plane card table and off days with each other’s families.
Maybe most importantly this week, those smiles come from longtime teammates like Kreider, who Trouba gets to go through this return to New York with.
All four former Rangers–”The Beatles,” as Ducks coach Joel Quenneville calls Kreider, Trouba, Vatrano and Strome–think the Madison Square Garden reception will be good, but Trouba in particular hopes the day is more about Rangers icon Kreider, who has made the season lighter and brighter for Trouba.
“This isn’t like a slight on anybody, but I think we’re having a lot more fun,” Trouba said. “We spend a lot of time together. Live close to each other, drive to games, drive to practice together, and having fun on the ice, smiling. I don’t know. I just think we’re maybe a little more relaxed and out of that, you call pressure, whatever you want to call it, but I think we’re just having a lot more fun.”