Rangers may have reached turning point with Trouba trade

GREENBURGH — Friday was a difficult day for the Rangers, but ultimately it may end up being a turning point in their season.

In their 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night, the Rangers looked like a team that had a burden removed after captain Jacob Trouba was traded before the game to the Anaheim Ducks. They outshot the Penguins, 32-22, out-attempted them, 59-54, and had a manageable number of turnovers [18, compared to Pittsburgh’s 19].

“I think we looked much better than we usually played the last month,’’ said Artemi Panarin, who had two goals, and showed off his famous leg kick celebration after the first one. The kick, which he hadn’t done in quite a while, was a release of emotion after an emotional day, he admitted.

“Yeah. Sometimes it’s just about the moment,’’ he said.

  Said Vincent Trocheck:  “There has been a cloud over our heads for a little while.’’

   With the win Friday, and games Sunday against Seattle and Monday against last-overall Chicago, the now captain-less Rangers have a chance to put this grim first third of the season behind them and string some wins together.

“I think so,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said at Saturday’s optional practice when asked if Trouba’s trade helped quiet things down around the team. “It’s always a tough day. Jacob . . . he’s a terrific teammate and person, and he did a really good job here with the New York Rangers, and being the captain. It’s an emotional day, for everybody. So I thought we were able to get past that. So I think that’s a positive.’’

General manager Chris Drury tried to trade the 30-year-old defenseman over the summer, but Trouba blocked that with the limited no-trade protection he had in his contract. The story got out that Trouba didn’t want to be traded because his wife, Dr. Kelly Tyson-Trouba, still had a year left on her hospital residency in New York, and he didn’t want to move.

Trouba wasn’t happy that his wife’s name got mentioned publicly, but he dealt with that. And he was resigned to the fact he would definitely be moved after the season. But he admitted on his Zoom call with the Anaheim media Friday that being a lame duck captain proved to be difficult.

“Leading was a little bit harder for me in that situation, knowing things that were public,’’ he said. “If they weren’t public, and other guys didn’t know, I think it would have been a little bit of an easier situation for me. But things unfolded how they did.’’

No doubt things would have been cleaner had Drury been able to trade Trouba over the summer to a team not on his no-trade list, or, failing that, if he’d bought him out of the final two years of his deal and made Trouba a free agent. Perhaps Trouba could have signed a bargain basement, one-year deal with the Islanders or Devils, and stayed in the area, and the Rangers could have moved on.

But they have moved on now, and regardless of how it happened, getting Trouba off their books opens things up for the team. They ended up not having to retain any of Trouba’s $8 million salary cap hit, which means Drury now has all kinds of salary cap room to work with come the March 7 trade deadline.

According to PuckPedia, the Rangers have $6.97 million in available cap space, after offloading Trouba and taking back defenseman Urho Vaakanainen ($1.1 million) in the deal. And because cap space accrues on a daily basis, they will have an estimated $21.9 million in available space at the deadline. That will be more than enough to get a first-line winger, a top-four left defenseman, an insurance policy third-line center, or whatever Drury deems necessary to bolster the roster.

So as ruthless as cutting ties with Trouba may seem, it could end up being the new start to their Stanley Cup aspirations the Blueshirts were looking for. 

Vaakanainen skates

Vaakanainen, who took the redeye to New York, was on the ice for the Rangers’ optional practice. As he is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and  skated in a green, no-contact jersey. Afterward, he said he isn’t sure when he’ll be ready to play, but he said he can shoot and pass the puck, and so he thinks he’s close.

As for his reaction to the trade, he said he was shocked, at first, but gradually became excited at joining the Rangers.

“My first thought was, like, ‘awesome!’’’ he said. “The Rangers are an Original Six team, obviously a big team, I’m super excited to be here.’’

Blue notes

Rookie forward Brett Berard, who has missed two games with an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Kirby Dach in the game against Montreal last Saturday, practiced in regular jersey after wearing a non-contact jersey all week. Laviolette wouldn’t say if he was a lineup option for Sunday . . . Saturday was Laviolette’s 60th birthday . . .  D Matthew Robertson, who was called up from AHL Hartford Friday afternoon to serve as insurance in case of a last-minute injury before Friday’s game, was returned to Hartford.