Rangers name Trouba 28th captain in franchise history

Jacob Trouba will wear the "C" for the New York Rangers.

The Blueshirts named the 28-year-old defenseman captain Tuesday, their first since Ryan McDonagh in 2017-18.

Trouba is the 28th captain in the history of the club, which was founded in 1926. He's played the last three seasons with New York after the Winnipeg Jets traded him there in exchange for fellow blue-liner Neal Pionk and a first-round pick (which Winnipeg used on rearguard Ville Heinola) in June 2019.

The Rangers are the first team in NHL history to name four consecutive American-born full-time captains with Trouba, McDonagh, Ryan Callahan, and Chris Drury, who's now New York's general manager.

Trouba is one of only three current NHL defensemen who are captains, joining Nashville Predators star Roman Josi and Jared Spurgeon of the Minnesota Wild. Trouba had been an alternate captain since the start of the 2021 campaign.

The Michigan-born blue-liner notched a career-high 11 goals to go along with 28 assists over 81 games this past season, his ninth in the NHL. Trouba blocked the second-most shots in the league (177) and racked up 207 hits in 2021-22. He was the only NHLer with at least 175 blocks and 200 hits, becoming the first Ranger since Dan Girardi in 2014-15 to accomplish the feat.

McDonagh wore the "C" for the better part of four seasons before the Rangers dealt him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in February 2018.

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