During this past season, the New York Rangers acquired defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for their former captain, Jacob Trouba. While moving out Trouba’s $8 million salary was the main takeaway from this trade for the Rangers, Vaakanainen still proved to be a solid addition to New York’s roster following the move.
Following the trade, Vaakanainen cemented himself a spot on the Rangers’ blueline due to his solid all-around play. In 46 games with the Rangers after the move, the left-shot defenseman set new career highs with two goals and 15 points. Overall, Vaakanainen had a nice start to his Rangers tenure and will now be looking to build off it in 2025-26 from here.
When looking at the Rangers’ current defensive group, there is a good chance that Vaakanainen will at least play on their bottom pairing. With this, the 26-year-old blueliner should be put in a position to improve his all-around game with the Rangers, and it will be fascinating to see if he does so.
If Vaakanainen can take that next step with his play, it would be big for a Rangers club looking to turn things back around. Time will tell if he can do just that, but the possibility of him hitting a new level for the Blueshirts this upcoming season should not be ruled out.