The New York Rangers expected things to be different this season. As it turns out, hiring head coach Mike Sullivan to single-handedly fix a flawed roster was like trying to stick a bandaid on a leaking wall. The Rangers are in dead-last in the Eastern Conference by a significant margin, and are in the process of trading away players in a rebuild, even though General Manager Chris Drury doesn't want to call it that.
It seems as though former Rangers are enjoying more success on their new teams. Take defenseman and former Rangers captain Jacob Trouba, for example. Last season, Trouba had an ugly exit from New York, where he accepted a trade to the Anaheim Ducks. At this point of the 2025-26 season before the Olympic break, the Ducks are firmly in playoff position.
Following Anaheim's 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night, Trouba took a shot at the Rangers when discussing his time with the Ducks in an interview with NHL on TNT. Trouba said, "If I'm going to be honest I'm having a little more fun than I had the last couple of years."
Trouba: “If I’m gonna be honest I’m having a little more fun than I had the last couple years” 👀 https://t.co/qwhlcFqz74 pic.twitter.com/RWrSYQiYsR
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) February 4, 2026
Jacob Trouba didn’t hide how he feels about life after the Rangers
Rangers fans know just how ugly Trouba's exit was, and he wasn't shy in revealiing the talks he had with Drury.
The locker room took it hard after Drury's actions in moving on from Barclay Goodrow back in the summer of 2023. Drury had placed Goodrow on waivers, who was then claimed by the San Jose Sharks. The thing is, Goodrow had the Sharks on his 15-team no-trade clause, and revealed that Drury didn't keep him in the loop. Things only got worse when Drury set his sights on moving on from Trouba.
Drury let it be known that the Rangers were open to trading away Trouba, which became public. Ultimately, Trouba refused to be traded before the 2024-25 season since he had a no-movement clause. Trouba stressed that he made that decision due to his family. But then, Trouba claimed he was threatened by the Rangers to either accept a trade or be placed on waivers like Goodrow. Soon, Trouba accepted a trade to the Ducks.
Trouba went from one of the Rangers' most prized additions via a trade in 2019 to gone in 2024. Even with the Rangers' success during his time with the team, he was far from a popular figure from the fanbase. Especially when they struggled, he was the face of the team, considering he was the captain. Not to mention his defensive numbers did drop off in the latter portion of his tenure. So, some Rangers fans may not want to hear Trouba take a veiled shot at the team while he's on a good team in the Western Conference.
Trouba is just one of many former Rangers enjoying success elsewhere. We'll see if there are more added to that list by the March 6 trade deadline.