Rangers Start Their Post-Trouba Era

One thing that money changes is perception. If Jacob Trouba was being paid $4.2m per year, would he still be considered a defensive liability or would he be that tough, physical, veteran defenseman that all Cup contenders need? If Trouba was paid $3.5m and he turned down a trade, would he still be considered selfish, or would he be lauded for being loyal to his wife, his teammates and his adopted city?

In fact, Trouba makes $8m per year. A contract that the New York Rangers gladly gave him after acquiring him from the Winnipeg Jets for Neil Pionk and a first-round draft choice. In 2022’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals, he was a catalyst with his physical play including a first-round, series-changing, legal hit on Sidney Crosby. Big hits like that have been rare at Madison Square Garden since the days of Jeff Beukeboom, and Trouba became a crowd favorite. He also became an important voice in the locker room and took the time to research how to grow into a better leader.

The Rangers rewarded him by naming him captain heading into the 2022-23 season, and he rewarded them by throwing his helmet and telling his team to “wake up” in a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on December 3, 2023. That incident snapped the Rangers out of a funk, and they immediately went on a 22-4-3 streak. Near the end of last year’s President Trophy winning season, he “lost a piece of his ankle” and missed most of the month of March. He never quite regained his timing when he returned for the playoffs, yet helped the Rangers again make the Eastern Conference Finals.

When the season ended, Chris Drury and his executive team realized they were at cross-roads because they wanted to make improvements and keep much of their core together, but they had limited maneuverability due to the salary cap. That’s when Drury decided to make a complete mess of the situation by going public with his desire to move on from his captain.

For some organizations this is commonplace, but in his first three years as Rangers GM, Drury made his conservative owner happy by being as tightlipped as (Islanders’ GM) Lou Lamoriello. That’s why we don’t buy that the late June, early July Trouba rumors were leaks. We believe it was intentional to put pressure on Trouba to accept a trade.

Fast forward to today, and a trade was inevitable.Drury should be lauded for getting the Ducks to take on Trouba’s full salary and getting minor assets in return. But let’s not forget that Drury created this mess in the first place. He could’ve tried to galvanize the team by generating a “last dance” mentality for the core or work quietly behind the scenes to get Trouba to agree to a trade.

However, by allowing this all to play out publicly, he undercut his captain, dimmed his voice in the locker room and forever tarnished the perception of Trouba’s time in New York.