Jacob Trouba, Igor Shesterkin and the Winners and Losers of Rangers' Roster Shakeup

After months of rumors, speculation, failed attempts and even some leaked threats from the front office, the New York Rangers finally completed a Jacob Trouba trade on Friday..

The Rangers sent Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Urho Vaakananen and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick, while Anaheim is also absorbing all of Trouba's remaining contract which includes an $8 million salary cap hit next season.

Along with that trade, the Rangers also reportedly signed superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year, $92 million contract extension.

It is a big, potentially franchise-altering day for the Rangers.

Let's talk about some of the winners and losers to come from it.

Rangers general manager Chris Drury has not been perfect in his assembling his roster.

Some weaknesses have been masked by the elite goalie and the dynamic power play. He did not adequately address those weaknesses in what was a rather underwhelming offseason. You can also question how he has handled the team's early struggles this season.

But you have to give it to him here -- he crushed this day and knocked it out of the park.

Not only did he finally complete a Trouba trade and make a necessary -- even if difficult -- move to help fix the defensive issues, he also got back a solid young player who could still have some untapped potential, got a future draft pick, and managed to get Anaheim to take on all of Trouba's remaining contract.

Forget the player and draft pick compensation.

Not retaining a dollar of Trouba's contract alone makes this deal a win given the salary cap flexibility it creates for the remainder of this season and the offseason.

Getting Shesterkin signed and removing that distraction for the remainder of the season was the cherry on top of a busy day.

Shesterkin is the Rangers. He is the backbone and focal point of everything they do and drives their success more than any one player. Keeping him was not just wishful thinking. It was a must given the way the Rangers are built and play.

Drury got it done.

Trouba did not want to leave the Rangers or New York City. But the Rangers really forced his hand, and not only sent him away, they sent him about as far away as they possibly could.

Anaheim is a rebuilding team that isn't going to the playoffs this season or next.

That is rough.

The good news for him is that he still gets to collect his money and play professional hockey. It is probably just not the way he envisioned the next couple of years going.

This one is just hard to figure out.

The Ducks are not ready to be a playoff team, are not going to be a playoff team, and Trouba is not going to get them any closer over the next year and a half. That alone makes it a head-scratcher.

Not only that, the Ducks are taking on all of Trouba's remaining contract and had to send two assets back to New York just for the right to do so.

Why are you doing this?

What are you thinking?

What is the plan here?

How did you end up in this situation?

When you are doing another NHL team a massive favor, and when you are taking on an albatross contract, you need to be the one getting additional assets back in return.

Shesterkin wanted to reset the goalie market, he did.

He also not only has his contract situation settled before it could become a major distraction, he also gets rewarded for putting the Rangers on his back for the past four years and carrying a flawed team further than it probably had any right going in a couple of those years.

His 11-year $92 million contract is a record deal for a goalie, and it is hard to argue that it is not deserved.

He is one of the two best goalies on the planet, and on most days he is probably the top goalie. The Rangers had to keep him, and they did.

The other benefit for the Rangers in this move is the flexibility it could give them this summer in the free-agent market.

Yeah, Shesterkin's contract will take up a lot of salary-cap space, but he was likely to get that anyway. Not only do the Rangers have an increasing salary cap to work with, but shedding Trouba's $8 million cap hit opens up even more room for the team to spend.

There could be some really enticing free agents on the open market.

Maybe the way the Rangers handled the Barclay Goodrow and Trouba departures will make some players have second thoughts about signing with this management team. But at the end of the day, a chance to play for a contender, in Madison Square Garden, in New York City is enticing.

If there is a takeaway from all of this it is that no-movement clauses need to be the priority over limited no-trade clauses, and if you want to stay in New York you should probably give them a reason to want to keep you.