Urho Vaakanainen thrilled to join Rangers after Jacob Trouba trade

The Rangers endured what was a chaotic Friday that included a booting of former captain Jacob Trouba to the Ducks and an historic extension for goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin. 

Somehow in the middle of both deals, they played a game that night, beating the Penguins 4-2 at Madison Square Garden, and turning a new page in welcoming former Duck Urho Vaakanainen to the mess in Trouba’s wake. 

Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the 25-year-old on his third NHL team in seven years. 

“Shock at first, then excited,” Vaakanainen, who was acquired along with a conditional fourth-round pick in 2025, said on Saturday after Rangers practice in Tarrytown. 

“First thought is like awesome. Rangers is an Original Six team,” he continued. “Obviously, a big team and I’m super excited to be here. First thoughts were obviously a big shock. You don’t really expect to get traded but when I heard the Rangers, I was hype.” 

The new energy will certainly be welcomed by the Rangers, who have taken a complete downhill turn after building a cushion on a 5-0-1 run that quickly spiraled after a 1-6 stretch that the team brought into Friday’s game. 

Trouba’s trade was a first step toward a new start, and head coach Peter Laviolette believes Friday’s events helped quiet things down around his team that lacked motivation, a sense of fight and a leadership figure. 

“I think so. It’s always a tough day. Jacob is a terrific teammate and person. Did a really good job here with the New York Rangers,” the head coach said on Saturday. “It’s an emotional day for everyone in short. I thought we were able to get past that. I thought we had a pretty decent morning skate and it transferred to the game last night.” 

However, it’s unknown where the Rangers’ new piece will fit at the moment. 

Vaakanainen, who took a red eye flight to New York, could be found on the Rangers ice on Saturday afternoon already getting himself acclimated to the system. 

However, the Rangers are receiving the defender on injury reserve with an upper-body injury.

He was wearing a green non-contact jersey with No. 18. 

Vaakanainen is unaware of the timeline of his return, but feels he is “getting closer” as he can currently shoot and pass the puck routinely. 

Laviolette was also vague on the timeline, saying it was “somewhere” between a day-to-day and week-to-week status. 

“We’ll get to that when we get there,” Laviolette said when asked if Vaakanainen will stay with the group or go off to one of the team’s affiliates. “Right now, he’s on the IR and out on the ice. That’s a good thing for us.” 

Vaakanainen, a Finland native who was drafted 18th overall in 2017 by Boston, believes he can bring “steady defense” to the Rangers while being “reliable” and one that will “play hard.” 

His seven NHL seasons have been plagued by injuries and he has tallied one goal and 24 assists across 141 games. 

This season, Vaakanainen had only played in five games for the Ducks, averaging nearly 14 minutes on the ice.

He put up one assist and seven blocks. 

Despite the injury and coming into a Rangers team six points away from the first place Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division standings, Vaakanainen isn’t coming into the group completely blind. 

He has a familiar face in fellow Finland native Kaapo Kakko, who he played World Juniors with in 2019. 

“It’s been a long time since I played with him, but pretty good player,” Kakko said on Saturday. “Good D-man … pretty good player.” 

The lefty has the potential to slot in as an inexpensive Rangers depth piece with a $1.1 million cap hit to switch up a stalling defense.

He will become a restricted agent this summer. 

Yet, rather more importantly, the Rangers got themselves away from what was a toxic situation with Trouba.