Jacob Trouba met with the media on Tuesday morning and said the following (MSG):
- On how he felt being traded, “I was a little surprised, I was cooking dinner and got a call from Chevy. I knew there were rumors and talk about it but I didn’t expect it to happen last night. Enjoyed the night, couldn’t be happier to join the team and be part of the Rangers organization. It’s a pretty special organization with the history and city and couldn’t be more excited.”
- What do you know about the Rangers, “I’ve talked to friends, Kevin Hayes a little bit about living in NY. I know Brady Skjei pretty well and obviously Brendan Lemieux. I’ve talked to some guys, we haven’t gotten that in depth of what is expected or the role or any of that stuff. I know what I can bring to the table and hope to have the opportunity to do it for a long time.”
- Are you open to a long-term deal, “last night we just wanted to enjoy the process and I’m sure we will deal with that in the coming days around the draft and everything is on the table and I could see myself being in NY for a long time.”
- Do you know David Quinn at all, “brand new relationship. Just from talking to people they have told me some things about him and style and that kind of stuff. I talked to him last night on the phone and looking forward to starting something good.”
- Why did it not work out in Winnipeg, “my fiancee aspires to be a doctor and it’s something that is very important to me and we want to have a life and live together and her career is as important as my career. This is a pretty good situation for both of us.”
- On how he’s developed being paired with Josh Morrisey, “he’s a special player and he can do a lot of things that are underrated, he does all the little things that make the game easier for his partner. He’s got all the talent in the world and a very good person and teammate and definitely going to miss playing with him.”
- What have you heard about the Rangers, “they are building a winner, that is the vibe that I’ve gotten. First class organization, it’s New York. You have a big stage and they expect a lot out of their team and we ultimately want to get to the Stanley Cup.”
- How important are the off-ice factors, “there are other goals in life that I have and I want to be a husband and father and her career is important and she’s worked extremely hard to get where she is. I want to see the best for her as much as she wants to see the best for me and we wanted to find a way for us to both be successful in our careers while living together and achieving other goals that we have in life outside of our goals. There are other places she can do it but New York is a great place for her and a lot of things. That was definitely important to both of us.”
- On his relationship with some Rangers, “I guess some pictures of me and Brady surfaced that weren’t the most….I think I was wearing his sunglasses by the way, I’d never buy those. I’ve had a great relationship with Brady for a long time. Usually when he is in Winnipeg we go for dinner and I’ll see him when we come to NY. We have always been close. Playing with Kevin, I know he isn’t there anymore but we talked a lot about NY and his time there. I played with Boo at Michigan, a lot of guys. The hockey world is pretty close and you find your way in with people.”
- On this past season, “It was a little different, some injuries opened up more opportunity. I was happy with how I played but I think there is more there and I want to achieve more, another level of my game that I think I can get to. It was a good season and with a little bit more opportunity I showed what I was capable of and I don’t think I showed everything yet.”
Trouba joined NHL Now on Tuesday and said:
- “I didn’t really expect it to happen yesterday but happy it happened and happy to be part of the Rangers.”
- How did you think it would play out, “I was thinking Friday was going to be the day or the day before, but I wasn’t expecting it last night.”
- On his motivation, “family. There are certain things that we decided, my fiance and I decided that in order to do things we wanted to do outside of hockey and goals for our life together, this was a necessary thing to do.”
- On how he fits with the Rangers, “they got a lot of good young talented players, I have some good buddies that play there, some guys who were there, just being in NYC and being part of the Rangers is pretty cool and hopefully go in and figure things out quick and where I fit in and can help and play how I play.”
- What do you know about the NY area, “not a whole lot, never really been there on vacation, just on the road but one of my favorite places to go. Life in general there is pretty exciting and looking forward to getting to know it.”
- On his contract, “they are talking and I can see myself being there for a long time but we will let Kurt and them figure out the contract situation.”
- Will you pay attention to the draft, “definitely going to be interested. We saw what Patrik Laine did when he came to Winnipeg as a high pick and it’s pretty drastic the impact the draft can have with a top pick. That is exciting and a big part of what we are building here.”