Is Jacob Trouba Deserving of Captaincy?
On August 9th, 2022, President and General Manager of the New York Rangers, Chris Drury, announced the decision to name Jacob Trouba captain. The Rangers had been without a captain since the 2017-18 season, when their former captain Ryan McDonagh, was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although naming a captain was something Ranger fans had been longing for, many fans were extremely disappointed in this decision, as they felt that Chris Kreider, who had just finished the best season of his career, was the better choice. This caused high sparked debates amongst Rangers fans as to whether or not Trouba was truly deserving of this position.
During 2021-22, Trouba had an exceptional season, and while it may not have been as prominent as Kreider’s was, the veteran defenseman scored a career-high 11 goals and tallied 28 assists for a total of 39 points in 81 games. Trouba also recorded 177 blocked shots, the second-most in the NHL, and he became the first Ranger since Dan Girardi in 2014-15 to record 175 or more blocked shots and 200 or more hits in the same season. He was the only player in the NHL in the 2021–2022 season to accomplish both feats.
When the Rangers fell 3-1 in their first-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Trouba called a players-only meeting. He walked into the teams' meal room and said, “Meeting room in 10 minutes.’’ The Rangers ended up completing a comeback and winning the series in seven games, advancing to the second round. While only the players and Trouba himself know what went on in that meeting room, there’s no doubt it was a turning point for the Rangers and plays a role in why he was named captain.
Trouba has always been spoken of very highly by his teammates, especially by his defensive partner K’andre Miller, who he stood up for when Miller was faced with disgusting racial comments. It's no secret that he has always been a leader in the Rangers locker room, with or without the ‘C.’
However, the start of the 2022-23 season hasn’t been successful for Trouba. In 31 games played, he has not yet scored a goal but has registered nine assists. He is currently ranked a minus-6 in his plus/minus, has 19 giveaways, and has recorded 37 penalty infraction minutes by taking 10 minor penalties, many of which fans often think are avoidable or unnecessary, and three major penalties, all three in attempts to wake up his team and get something going. Out of the entire National Hockey League, Trouba has taken the most shots without scoring a goal, 87 to be exact. While a captain isn’t required to put up the best numbers, fans certainly aren’t happy with Trouba’s performance thus far.
Out of 26 active captains in the NHL, only three are defensemen; alongside Trouba, the two other defensemen captains are Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Jared Spurgeon of the Minnesota Wild. It’s fair to say that Josi and Spurgeon are both off to better starts this season. In 28 games, Josi, who is ranked a minus-four, has scored six goals and notched 17 assists for a total of 23 points. Spurgeon has two goals, and 10 assists, for a total of 12 points in 29 games and is ranked a plus-12.
Captaincy isn’t focused on whether a player is leading the league in goals or points. A captain is a leader, someone who gives it their all, leads by example, and leaves it all out on the ice. While Rangers fans may be blind-sighted by Trouba’s “poor’’ play, the only people that know what goes on inside the locker room are the players, all of which have the utmost respect for Trouba. Trouba is clearly a loud voice in the Rangers locker room that the younger guys can look up to, and he has so much pride in leading his team. Trouba is more than fit for captaincy and is very deserving of the role.