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Jacob Trouba

Evening Notes: Boeser, IIHF/Russia, NHLPA Leadership

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After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.

One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.

Snapshots: Canadiens Injuries, Pastrnak, Rangers Leadership Group, Blais

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After heading all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020-21, only to finish dead last in the NHL standings in 2021-22, it’s unclear exactly what is to be expected from the Montreal Canadiens this year. Injuries were a large part of what plagued the team last season, and heading into this season, they’re still a part of the headline. Of course, legendary goaltender Carey Price will be on LTIR and is unlikely to play this season, and it’s unclear if he’ll ever return. Still, there are some shorter-term updates available out of Montreal today.

For one, veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson, who is recovering from a back injury, was able to skate this morning and though his rehab is progressing, the team is still unable to provide a timetable for his return. Forwards Joel Armia and Emil Heineman will both be out with injury, Armia out one to two weeks with an upper-body injury and Heineman six weeks with a thumb injury. Defenseman Mike Matheson, who the team acquired in the Jeff Petry deal, is continuing to rehab a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. Finally, forwards and expected key contributors Nick Suzuki, Mike Hoffman, and Christian Dvorak, who had all been dealing with separate ailments, were back at practice this morning.

  • Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney spoke to the media this morning, including Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, where he discussed a number of Bruins-related topics. Most notably, he touched on extension talks between the team and pending UFA forward David Pastrnak. While many teams and players, in hockey as well as other sports, generally put off contract talks once the season starts, that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Sweeney says the Bruins and Pastrnak have been talking almost every day and are comfortable talking into the regular season. While a deal isn’t done yet of course, the continued dialogue is clearly a good sign for the Bruins and their fans, showing Pastrnak presumably has interest in staying with the team.
  • Earlier this summer, the New York Rangers announced defenseman Jacob Trouba would be their next captain, remarkably their first since previous captain Ryan McDonagh was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018. In the interim, the team has relied on a group of alternate captains to fill their leadership group until they found the perfect fit for the vacant captaincy. Having now chosen Trouba as their man, the Rangers still have their contingent of alternates to go along with him, formally announcing them today. This season, the team will run with veterans Barclay Goodrow, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad as alternates.
  • Tough news for Rangers forward Sammy Blais, who had been out with injury since last November, as he’s still dealing with the aftermath of an upper-body injury suffered after taking a hit from New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov in their Saturday evening preseason contest. According to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, the Rangers have said the forward will not practice today and is doubtful for tomorrow’s season opener against the, Tampa Bay Lightning.

New York Rangers Name Jacob Trouba Captain

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The New York Rangers will have a captain next season for the first time since Ryan McDonagh was traded in 2018. Jacob Trouba was named the 28th captain in Rangers history, and will wear the “C” next season. General manager Chris Drury explained why he made this choice:

We all think Jacob is the perfect choice for captain for many reasons. Certainly since the moment he got here, he has continued to grow as a leader within the organization. Things he does on the ice, off the ice, behind the scenes, you name it. He’s the perfect role model for our young guys, for our older guys, for our veterans. He just chooses to do everything right day in and day out. We’re thrilled he’s going to be our captain. 

Trouba, 28, is entering his fourth season with the Rangers, after landing in New York via trade in the summer of 2019. He had made it clear to the Winnipeg Jets that he was unlikely to re-sign with them long-term, so after six seasons with the Canadian club, he was sent to the Rangers in exchange for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick (which ended up being Ville Heinola).

While some may argue that the seven-year, $56MM contract that he quickly signed pays him a bit more than his on-ice play warrants, there’s a reason why the Rangers have made him captain today. The big, physical defenseman has been a horse for the club averaging more than 22 minutes a night since arriving, and taking on some of the difficult defensive matchups in order to free up more offensive players like Adam Fox.

Remember that shift to responsible, physical play wasn’t always Trouba’s calling card. He was a puck-mover for the Jets and even reached 50 points in 2018-19 on the back of top powerplay production. While he does get a bit of time with the man advantage in New York, it’s his even-strength contributions that are some important, where he averages more time than any other Rangers player. He has also produced elite penalty-killing results, and developed into one of the most feared open-ice hitters in the league.

With just four years left on his deal and this season to be played mostly at the age of 28, it is unlikely that the Rangers will have to pay for much of a decline, at least on this contract. His captaincy essentially ends any lingering trade speculation, though even that was always a bit far-fetched, given his no-movement clause and stated desire to stay.

Today, he joins an exclusive group, that includes Drury himself, who served as Rangers captain between 2008-2011. There aren’t many people better suited to understand the role and make a selection.

Snapshots: Wild, Babcock, Trouba

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Questions are sure to arise this offseason in the State of Hockey. The Minnesota Wild, although they forced the series to six games, were dealt with pretty handily in the final days of their season by the St. Louis Blues, capped off by a 5-1 rout in Game 6.

Now, with the full effect of the controversial Zach Parise/Ryan Suter buyouts kicking in next season, many wonder how the Wild will be able to manage their cap space moving forward. NBC Sports’ James O’Brien looks at a few routes the Wild could go down to manage their salary cap situation next season. The buyouts take up a combined $12.74MM next season, and although the team’s cap situation is fuzzy due to the amount of playoff Black Aces still on the active roster, they’ll surely have less than $10MM to work with this offseason. That includes signing Kevin Fiala, who’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights (again), to a new deal, and finding a goalie to replace (or to-resign) Marc-Andre Fleury. While Fiala could be dealt, especially after an underwhelming playoff performance, they could also look to clear out some depth names. O’Brien names Dmitry Kulikov, who carries a $2.25MM cap hit next season, as another trade piece, although he does have an eight-team no-trade list (somehow).

  • While there hasn’t been any official link, and there likely won’t be knowing the tight-lipped Lou Lamoriello, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz names former NHL bench boss Mike Babcock as a potential fit for the New York Islanders’ coaching vacancy. Kurz references Lamoriello’s history with Babcock in Toronto, and Lamoriello’s history of opting for tougher, more aggressive voices in the room as a solution to unsatisfactory team performance. Since then, he’s served as a senior adviser at the University of Vermont and the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan.
  • After Jacob Trouba’s controversial hit that gave Sidney Crosby a reported concussion, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatscheck looked at whether the NHL could examine a potential rule change to penalize similar hits in the future. Duhatschek notes that penalizing all hits to the head is extremely unlikely, as evidenced by current NHL leadership’s hesitation against cracking down on body contact. While illegal head contact exists in the NHL, by its definition, the league viewed Trouba’s hit as legal.

Snapshots: Switzerland, Trouba, Lindholm

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The IIHF World Championship will start tomorrow and there are NHL players littered across all of the rosters. One of the most interesting rosters is the one that Switzerland has managed to put together, with names like Timo Meier and Nico Hischier leading the way. Unfortunately for the Swiss, they’ll be without their best option despite him already being eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Roman Josi has turned down the invitation, citing his pregnant wife whom he will be staying with for the next little while.

Josi’s 96-point year was the best season of all time from a Swiss-born player, though Kevin Fiala and Meier both would have also set that record this season had the others not existed (with Hischier not far behind). Fiala is obviously also not on the roster as he continues to battle for the Minnesota Wild, but the success of these players only suggests that Swiss hockey will continue to grow and make an even bigger impact on the NHL in the coming years.

  • There is no supplementary discipline expected for New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba’s hit on Sidney Crosby last night, according to several reports including Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after missing the second half of the game, while Trouba will try to help even the series tomorrow night in Pittsburgh after scoring and recording two points yesterday.
  • Speaking of defensemen trying to help even a series, Hampus Lindholm will return for the Boston Bruins in game six tonight after missing the last few with an upper-body injury. Lindholm was injured on a hit from Andrei Svechnikov and held out, but told reporters today that he started to feel better quickly afterward and is now ready to go. The trade deadline acquisition is expected to return to the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy and play a ton as the Bruins fight for their season.

Jarred Tinordi Assigned To Conditioning Loan

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The New York Rangers continue to employ the conditioning loan to manage their depth on the blue line this season. After Libor Hajek spent time with the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack earlier this season, it is now Jarred Tinordi’s turn. The team has announced that the veteran defenseman is on his way down to the minors for a conditioning stint.

Tinordi’s loan is a bit more puzzling that Hajek’s, however. While Hajek, 23, is still a young and once-promising asset that could have been lost on waivers, Tinordi is a lesser risk. In fact, the 29-year-old stay-at-home specialist already cleared waivers earlier this season. There is also the fact that the Rangers have a clear top six and wouldn’t be significantly harmed even if Tinordi was claimed. Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, and Patrik Nemeth have played in all 25 of New York’s games, while rookie Nils Lundkvist has suited up for 20. Tinordi has played in only five games, the last of which came all the way back on November 21, and is averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game. Hajek meanwhile has amazing still not seen NHL action this year. With such a solid six, is it worth manipulating the roster in this way just to ensure a player like Tinordi isn’t claimed?

The counter-argument is this: beyond their current top six, the Rangers are not as deep as they may seem on defense and Tinordi is more of an established NHL value than it may seem too. While New York has been fortunate enough to not have to dive into their defensive depth yet this season, an injury or tow, especially to one of top blue liners, would leave the team exposed. Miller and Lundkvist are both very young and raw and there are more like them in Hartford. Though all very talented prospects, leaning on the inexperience of Zac Jones, Braden Schneider, or Matthew Robertson in the event of health issues on the NHL blue line would leave the Rangers with very little veteran leadership and know-how. If Tinordi was lost on waivers, only Anthony Bitetto would offer an experienced depth option. Just last year, Tinordi was claimed on waivers too. The Boston Bruins took a shot on the big rearguard when the Nashville Predators risked him on the wire and Tinordi ended up playing out the season in Boston and even suiting up in the postseason. Given their lack of veteran options, it seems that the Rangers are unwilling to risk history repeating itself.

So, Tinordi will get some play time and stay game-ready with a stint in Hartford. The move could also allow for Hajek to finally draw back into the Rangers lineup and could provide the promising Wolf Pack blue liners with another veteran mentor, at least for the time being. It’s not exactly a critical move for the franchise, but it’s a safe play for a team with their eye on finally getting back to the postseason this year.

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Trocheck, Backstrom, Rangers

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The Penguins had close to a full group at practice today with winger Jake Guentzel returning from COVID-19 protocol while center Sidney Crosby participated once again.  However, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that those two as well as winger Zach Aston-Reese, have all been ruled out for tomorrow’s season-opener.  However, Guentzel is a possibility to play on Thursday night while Crosby is unlikely to play on their road trip.  An IR placement for him appears likely which could open up a roster spot for the expected signing of veteran Brian Boyle.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While Carolina placed center Vincent Trocheck on IR over the weekend, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes’ team site notes (Twitter link) that the team remains optimistic that he will be available for their season-opener against the Islanders on Thursday. Trocheck had 43 points in 47 games last season while primarily playing on Carolina’s second line, a role he’s likely to reprise in 2021-22.
  • Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom has been making progress as he works his way back from a hip injury but the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran has been designated as injured/non-roster on their season-opening roster. Head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that the 33-year-old has to start skating.  As a result, it appears it will be a little while longer before Washington’s top pivot is in the lineup.
  • While the Rangers were expected to name a captain before the season started, that is not the case. Instead, the team revealed (Twitter link) that they have named six alternates – defenseman Jacob Trouba plus forwards Barclay Goodrow, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, and Mika Zibanejad.

Injury Notes: Rangers, Kukan, Pacioretty

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The New York Rangers will be without several key players for their last few games of the season, as Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, and Ryan Lindgren were all ruled out today. Head coach David Quinn confirmed that the lower-body injury that will end Panarin’s season early was suffered on last night’s Tom Wilson incident, but didn’t give any specifics on what the ailment was.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Rangers, who were one of the youngest teams in the league and look poised to take another step forward in 2021-22. They won’t be making the playoffs, but can certainly be pleased with the development of several young players and know that in any other division their 26-21-6 record (with a +25 goal differential) would be right in the mix.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are another team out of the playoff race, so many of their players are likely being targeted as potential options for the upcoming IIHF World Championship. According to a report out of Switzerland, the tournament isn’t an option for Dean Kukan, who will need surgery instead. The Swiss-born Kukan played over 15 minutes last night for Columbus and it is not clear if the report means that he will get surgery after the season, or that he suffered an injury recently and will have to miss the last few games. The Blue Jackets have three matches left and will finish their regular season schedule on Saturday. (UPDATE: Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch spoke to Kukan’s agent, who denied that his client needs surgery.)
  • Max Pacioretty was forced from the action over the weekend for the Vegas Golden Knights and missed last night’s game, but head coach Peter DeBoer doesn’t believe it will be a long-term injury according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Pacioretty is listed as day-to-day. It’s been another excellent season for the 32-year-old forward, who has rediscovered his game in Vegas and has 51 points in 48 appearances this season. The Golden Knights have five games remaining and currently sit just two points ahead in the race for the West Division crown.

East Notes: Mittelstadt, Trouba, Miller

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It has been a tough first few professional seasons for Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt.  A productive forward in his lone college campaign, the 22-year-old hasn’t been able to have much success offensively since turning pro.  However, he has spent most of his eight games with Buffalo on the wing this season instead of his natural center position with head coach Ralph Krueger telling Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he’s pleased with Mittelstadt’s progress so far.  Krueger went as far as stating that Mittelstadt “looks to be crystalizing into more of a winger than a centerman”, something that may wind up being best for him down the road.  While he was drafted to play down the middle, Jack Eichel and Dylan Cozens are their one-two punch for the future and with Mittelstadt being waiver-eligible next season, Buffalo needs to find a permanent spot for him in their lineup before too long.  If that’s the wing, that’s a better outcome than him languishing down the middle.

Elsewhere in the East Division:

  • The Rangers activated defenseman Jacob Trouba off injured reserve, USA Today’s Vincent Z. Mercogliano was among those to note (Twitter link). The blueliner had missed the last eight games due to a thumb injury and actually came back quicker than expected.  Initially given a four-to-six-week recovery timeline, Trouba missed only three weeks of action.  New York will be expecting more from him offensively though as he has just three assists (and no goals) in 14 games heading into tonight’s contest.  To make room for Trouba on the roster, Artemi Panarin was designated as a non-roster player as his leave of absence continues.
  • Boston defenseman Kevan Miller is expected to resume skating sometime this coming week, relays Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team website. Miller was placed on IR midway through last month as his surgically-repaired knee was acting up but it appears that rest was all that was needed.  The 33-year-old has played in 15 games this season and is averaging 18:39 per game but given the recurrence of pain in that knee, the team may be better off giving him a smaller workload when he is able to return.

Jacob Trouba Out 4-6 Weeks

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The New York Rangers have announced that defenseman Jacob Trouba will be out four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. Head coach David Quinn later told reporters including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press that Trouba broke his thumb. In a condensed schedule, that means he’ll miss a huge chunk of the season.

Trouba, 26, may never get back to the 50-point defenseman he was in 2018-19, but he is still one of the most important players on the Rangers team, logging huge minutes in all situations. Overshadowed at times this season by younger players like Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller, there’s something to be said about averaging nearly 22 minutes a night and doing it quietly.

Without him, the Rangers blueline suddenly looks rather inexperienced, unless you believe Jack Johnson can find his way to becoming a capable defender again.

It wasn’t all bad news today though, as Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports that both Artemi Panarin and Miller were practicing with the team. If the Rangers are to turn the season around (a tough task without Trouba for the next month), they’ll need those two playing at their best.

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