ANAHEIM, Calif. — The first thought about the addition of Jacob Trouba to an Anaheim Ducks blue line with Radko Gudas is whether suplexes, backbreakers and pile drivers will now be part of the nightly menu. A dose of The People’s Elbow mixed in, perhaps.
Maybe that’s not the first thought, but with Trouba and Gudas on the same team, the chances of them being tag-team partners in mayhem have increased tenfold.
If it can be conjured up in social media, why couldn’t it happen in reality?
Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba when they see players just doing a simple zone entry pic.twitter.com/7QDhEksPBm
— Tyler Beauchesne (@SensfleckTy) December 6, 2024
Wrestling moves aren’t allowed in the NHL — as far as we know — and, to be clear, the hits that Trouba and Gudas have laid on opposing players over the years routinely have been questioned and occasionally have crossed the line of legality. But with the Ducks’ acquisition of Trouba from the New York Rangers on Friday, Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek doubled the quotient of meanness on his defense corps.
What does the five-times suspended Gudas think of the twice-suspended Trouba becoming a fellow orange-clad purveyor of punishment?
“I’m excited to have him on the blue line and have him on the squad,” Gudas, who’s in his first season as captain, told The Athletic on Friday night. “He’s a physical defenseman like I am, and I really enjoyed his game even from the other bench. Real thrilled to have him. He’s a big leader. He won the (Mark Messier Leadership) award last year for a reason. Looking forward to getting him to help me with this group and see his leadership on the ice.
“It’s one of those things that I can’t really describe until I get a couple games under belt with him. But I’m really thrilled to have another player that plays a similar game as me. A lot of guys are not going to be enjoying their time in Honda Center.”
The Ducks’ willingness to absorb all of Trouba’s $8 million salary cap hit for this year and next, while relieving the cap-challenged Rangers of a player they’ve no longer wanted for a while, does feel like a curious move at this stage. Or at any stage. The Ducks are not close to contending or even being in the playoff mix, and being outclassed by the NHL’s top team, the Minnesota Wild, by a 5-1 count on Friday only reaffirmed that. This is a club taking its awkward initial steps out of a long rebuild, and it just added a player whose game had been on a slide during his captaincy of the Rangers.
New York wanted to dump Trouba so much that general manager Chris Drury, as the defenseman said Friday, threatened to put him on waivers if he didn’t acquiesce to one of the deals Drury was working on. The Rangers ultimately did deal Trouba for the low, low price of injury-plagued blueliner Urho Vaakanainen and a conditional 2025 fourth-round draft pick that Anaheim had in surplus. The asset cost for the 30-year-old Trouba was a pittance, since Vaakanainen didn’t figure to be in the Ducks’ long-term plans. They had the most cap space of any team before the trade and may not have another huge contract to negotiate through the rest of Trouba’s deal.
The concern is just how much Trouba can help the Ducks in terms of performance. The trick here is to not think of Trouba as an $8 million player, since he most certainly is not that. The key is whether he can still defend effectively while providing more of a physical element that the Ducks had little of on defense outside of Gudas, who actually hasn’t played at the level of his first season with Anaheim. In his initial team-issued statement about acquiring Trouba, Verbeek alluded to him playing “many more years,” which suggests he feels there’s a lot of game left.
“When a player of this caliber comes available, I wanted to help our team,” Verbeek said. “And I think he improves our team. He gives us a lot of depth on defense now. He’s a really good penalty-killer. I think he’s got some underrated offensive skills that probably haven’t shown in the last year or so.
“Overall, it gives our team a lot more rigid, physical play. To the rest of the group and for me. As you know, I’m trying to make this team better. That is part of how I want us to play. I want us to be really tough to play against, and he certainly adds that element to our group.”
Now these Ducks aren’t anywhere near the big, bad Stanley Cup winners of a different age, a group could beat you on the scoreboard with their skill and beat you up in the process. But there’s been a renewed edge in their game that they’ve consistently lacked for years. It was once a chore to play against Anaheim. Verbeek wants to make that edge razor-sharp again.
It’s highly unlikely that the Ducks will use Trouba and Gudas as a pair, and coach Greg Cronin didn’t get into who’ll Trouba will be partnered with, though there was a natural allusion made by many around the Ducks that he’ll be matched with one of their skilled left-handed sorts. But it didn’t stop social media from referring to Trouba and Gudas as the “Bash Brothers” enforcers from “D2: The Mighty Ducks.”
First look at Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba on the same team https://t.co/xDyiRLK1kT pic.twitter.com/W5bX3T90cJ
— Nighthawk (@KrikorianB15) December 6, 2024
“I think if you ask a lot of guys around the league, those are the two most feared guys when you’re on the ice against them,” said Ducks forward Ryan Strome, who played with Trouba for three seasons with the Rangers. “I’m not saying that we’re trying to be the Bash Brothers or anything — I saw that picture, it was pretty funny. But I think physicality and leadership, teaching young guys how to play, maturity and (someone) that’s been through a lot of ups and downs, those things are all infectious.
“And I think all the guys that we brought in this year that are older guys, it’s hard for you guys to see their impact on a day-to-day basis but I think the more, the better and it really helps young guys out.”
Cronin has a crowded blue line, and the scratching of Pavel Mintyukov for the last two games in part reflects that. Cam Fowler returned to the lineup this week, and the Ducks must showcase him if they want to interest teams in a trade. Olen Zellweger is a fixture now and they’ve gotten good work from fellow youngsters Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson. (That wasn’t the case Friday, but no one was particularly good against Minnesota). And there are the veterans in Gudas and Brian Dumoulin.
Now they’ve got to find a place for Trouba, whose poor defensive metrics reflect his ragged play. But the Ducks will incorporate him because they feel he can be a good example for the Zellweger-Mintyukov-LaCombe-Helleson group, which has played in a combined total of 240 NHL games. Trouba himself has played in 772, along with 73 playoff contests.
“You don’t just become the captain of the New York Rangers and not have excellent qualifications on and off the ice,” Verbeek said. “I spoke to Radko this morning and he was excited. I think he’s going to be able to add another layer of leadership to our entire group with a different voice. I think it’s important. Speaking with guys, I think our group’s really excited about bringing Jacob in.”
Now 12 years in, Trouba is at a stage where he’s not just looking to play hockey and maximize his own career. On Friday, he said the uncertainty of his future with the Rangers and the possibility of a move weighed on him enough to impact his role as captain and affect his play. In Anaheim, the Ducks have Gudas to handle the “C” and also an alternate group. But the Ducks do want Trouba to have a voice in the room.
“I don’t view it coming in there and trying to be some major leadership role,” Trouba said in a video conference interview with reporters. “I think just being yourself and being genuine, that’s the best way to lead. Building relationships with players I think is something I’ve come to enjoy, and you meet new people. Figure out different ways that you can help different people. Everyone comes from a different place or in a different point in their career. Find a way to positively impact every player, I guess, is considered leadership but it’s kind of just a way you go about your business and your day and who you are. Just being genuine to yourself.”
Verbeek said the trade developed quickly, as the Ducks were among a few teams — most notably Columbus — working on acquiring him. It was well-known that Trouba had been on the market for months, but Verbeek said he didn’t pursue him until Thursday. But Trouba said Anaheim was a consideration when he and his wife discussed potential other NHL homes over the summer, if a time came where the Rangers nudged him into a corner.
The couple saw Southern California as appealing, both personally and professionally. Trouba is signed through next season, and Verbeek was fine with his cap hit and lower actual salary of $6 million for this season and 2025-26.
“It was a team that I was excited to join,” Trouba said. “It’s a team that’s kind of right on the cusp of taking the next step and being really great. Hopefully, I can come in there and make an impact in a positive way.”
In a one-sided loss Friday, the Ducks didn’t show the progress Verbeek feels they’ve made, even if it can feel frustratingly incremental at times. But they feel they’re getting someone rejuvenated who will exemplify their desire to be more competitive and not just play out the string another spring.
“I think you’re going to have a highly motivated guy with a real piano off his back,” Strome said. “Someone that’s motivated to play. And I think at the end of the day, too, it’s exciting that there’s a guy that wanted to come here and waved his no-move to come here. Sees the potential and wants to live here and wants to join in. Those are all huge positives if you ask me.”
(Photo of Montreal’s Josh Anderson and Trouba: John Jones / Imagn Images)
