GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) 鈥 New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said Thursday 鈥渢heresa国际传媒 no animosity鈥 toward the organization following an offseason in which his name was prominently mentioned in trade rumors.
鈥淚tsa国际传媒 part of the business of hockey,鈥 Trouba said following the first day of training camp for the reigning Presidents鈥 Trophy-winning Rangers.
According to reports, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury had negotiated a trade that would send New Yorksa国际传媒 captain to Detroit in late June. The trade fell apart, however, when Trouba submitted his 15-team no-trade list to the Rangers on June 30 and included the Red Wings on it.
鈥淥bviously, had the no-move that turned into the partial no-trade,鈥 said Trouba, whom New York acquired in a trade with Winnipeg in June 2019 and signed to a seven-year, $56 million contract one month later. 鈥淭hatsa国际传媒 life, contracts, hockey business, whatever you want to call it.
鈥淚 knew that was coming that summer. Itsa国际传媒 not by surprise. It was obviously something that was negotiated at the time.鈥
The 30-year-oldsa国际传媒 insistence that his relationship with Drury is fine echoes what the executive said in a pre-training camp conference call with reporters.
鈥淛acob and I talk all the time as GM and captain should,鈥 Drury said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a number of different conversations over the course of the summer on a lot of different things. He is very clear as to where he stands with me and what I think of him as a player and as a leader.鈥
Still, Trouba realizes that the 2024-25 season is likely the last for the current iteration of the Original Six franchise. The Rangers have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last three seasons, and have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024. Following last springsa国际传媒 six-game series loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Drury wondered aloud in a conference call with reporters if the Rangers鈥 core players could lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup.
鈥(Itsa国际传媒) an opportunity that we have in front of us that in all likelihood will probably be the last crack for this core,鈥 Trouba said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think thatsa国际传媒 a secret by any means. (A) group thatsa国际传媒 kind of grown together, spent some years together here, and theresa国际传媒 something we want to accomplish.鈥
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