Rangers officially name Jacob Trouba as the 28th captain in franchise history

Honestly... kind of perplexed by this. Trouba's a great player, but... what about Kreider or Zibenajad?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 1 year ago
Rangers officially name Jacob Trouba as the 28th captain in franchise history
New York Rangers

The New York Rangers confirmed a late night report from ESPN NHL insider Kevin Weekes last night, officially naming defenseman Jacob Trouba as the team's captain. 

Check it out:

I've got to say... that's a complete shock to me. Not because Trouba isn't a great player but... well... there are just so many better options on this Rangers team. I mean, how is Chris Kreider not at the top of the list? Or how about another veteran like Mika Zibanejad? Or if you wanted to go with a defenseman how about Adam Fox? Just an odd choice if I'm being honest.

But, even if I was caught off guard by the announcement, it doesn't seem like Trouba's teammates were. Check out this video of players like Kreider personally congratulating Trouba on the announcement:

The Rangers, of course, have been without an official captain since trading defenseman Ryan McDonagh in 2018. This past season Trouba, Kreider and Zibanejad all wore the "A" as assistant captains along with Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome and Barclay Goodrow. Kreider is the longest tenured Rangers player and was the odds on favorite to wear the "C", but it's clear that the team's coaching and management staff see things differently.

For what it's worth, Trouba is a compelling choice. He's certainly a fiery individual who can be counted on to be ready when he's most needed. The same thing could be said for a certain #11 who wore the "C" for the Rangers, but I won't go so far as to draw that comparison as it's not fair to either player. In any case, Trouba had a bit of a bounce back campaign for the Rangers this past season after two relatively pedestrian years. He put up 11 goals and 39 points in 81 games and was a defensive leader for the team. Oh... and he lays the BOOM.

Just check it out:

The guy is an absolute wrecking ball and it's clear that he has the full respect of his teammates. I'm not sure that's enough to step into the captain's role personally, but evidently the Rangers think there's more there with Trouba. 

Thoughts, Rangers fans?