Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury fielded questions ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season on Tuesday, and his relationship with his captain was still one of them.
With the first on-ice session of the Blueshirts’ training camp set for Thursday, Jacob Trouba is a player to watch for a myriad of reasons.
The 30-year-old defenseman is coming off a tough 2023-24 campaign and an eventful offseason, during which there were rumors the Rangers were looking to trade him.
“Jacob and I talk all the time, as GM and captain should,” Drury said when asked if there were conversations with Trouba to smooth things over. “I would even include Lavi [Peter Laviolette] in those conversations. Obviously, being captain, he runs our dressing room and is head of the leadership group. We’ve had a number of different conversations over the course of the summer, on a lot of different things. He is very clear as to where he stands with me and what I think of him as a player and as a leader. I think he’s done a real good job here.
“As a captain, there’s so many moving parts that go in and out of being captain, especially in New York and especially the Rangers captain. Excited to have him back, excited for training camp. I know he had a terrific offseason, training wise.”
Trouba suffered a broken ankle and missed 11 games in March, which certainly played a role in his poor play down the stretch of last year. His 2023-24 season as a whole, however, was underwhelming.
Just before the playoffs, Trouba was demoted to the third pair. He remained there for a majority of the postseason, at the conclusion of which he led all skaters in penalties (11).
The Post reported that Trouba’s wife, Dr. Kelly Tyson-Trouba, and her residency at a New York hospital became a factor in the offseason situation. When Trouba signed his seven-year, $56 million deal in July 2019, his five-year no-movement clause was specifically designed to expire in conjunction with his wife’s completion of her three-year residency.
Since Dr. Tyson-Trouba’s residency was deferred for a year, there was no guarantee Trouba would’ve accepted a trade even to a club on his new 15-team no-trade list. The Troubas also welcomed their first child, Axel, in January.
Trouba, who was named captain in August 2022, has 31 goals and 99 assists in 340 games over five seasons with the Rangers.
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