Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said recently that the answers to getting the Rangers back on track will come from inside the locker room. In other words, it’s up to the players to lead the team out of the wilderness. (Hint: He’s telling Rangers captain Jacob Trouba to start playing better.)
In case you are not aware, the Rangers tried to trade Trouba this summer to build a faster team and clear salary cap space to sign free-agent-to-be goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Rumor has it that the Rangers tried to trade Trouba to the Detroit Red Wings, but the Rangers captain used his no-trade clause to avert a trade.
Larry Brooks, the controversial hockey writer at the New York Post, insinuated that Trouba did not want to go to Detroit because his wife was completing her three-year residency at a New York hospital. That said, Chris Drury, the Rangers president of hockey operations, recently sent a memo to 31 NHL teams, saying he is open to trading his players. That tells me that he is trying to jumpstart interest in Trouba.
With all that going on, Trouba has been pouting since training camp, and his play reflects that stance. If he is upset about the Rangers trying to trade him, he might have moved on rather than stealing money from the team and not bothering to play anymore. But he used his no-trade clause to stay, which means he needs to play like he is committed to the Rangers.
The bottom line is that Trouba needs to act like a professional.
I know plenty of people who hate their bosses, but they still work hard because that’s how professionals handle themselves. Trouba is getting paid too well to be whining about being underappreciated. Things could be a lot worse, and he knows it.
But the status quo isn’t acceptable either. Trouba’s play has been troubling in at least five ways. 1) He struggles to get back on defense when he turns the puck over. 2) He hasn’t scored a goal this season in 24 games. 3) He has been less than exceptional in late-game situations. 4) He has to do a better job of checking and setting guys up to score. 5) My biggest concern is that he’s not being physical.
Watching Jack Hughes own Trouba on Monday night (in New Jersey’s 5-1 win over the Rangers) is a sign that Trouba is not in a good place.
Trouba acts like he’s entitled. But how can that be? He hasn’t won a championship in his career, and he’s not even a star on his team. So, I find it strange that he was named team captain. Show me Trouba has the leadership skills to be a team captain. (Answer: You can’t).
My conclusion is that players like Trouba can be easily found. He’s not a franchise player who can behave like he needs to be catered to. Indeed, in this town, you’d be hard-pressed to find a hockey fan who even knows who Trouba is.
To be fair, Trouba is not the only Ranger struggling currently because just about everyone on the roster is in that category. But as captain, he needs to do a much better job of leading, starting with reversing the team’s course (losers of six of its last ten games).
Getting the Rangers back to their winning standard starts with Trouba playing to his standard. He can start by doing his job … instead of acting like a woe-is-me victim.
