Jacob Trouba brought physicality and heart to the New York Rangers blue line.
We continue our series of New York Rangers report cards. We’ll look back at last season and provide some expectations for the coming season.
Jacob Trouba: Grade B
When Jacob Trouba was acquired in June 2019 from the Winnipeg Jets for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick in that summer’s Entry Draft, the Rangers almost immediately signed the pending restricted free agent to a seven-year deal worth $56 million, one that includes a full no-movement clause through the 2023-24 season and modified NMC in each of the contract’s final two seasons.
After one season, the Rangers certainly didn’t get a return worth the $8 million-per-season cap hit attached to the Rochester, Michigan native.
But whose fault is that?
The Rangers, who reportedly long coveted Trouba since he potted 10 goals and assisted on 19 others in 65 games as a 19-year-old rookie with Winnipeg, paid him big bucks to be a top-pairing defenseman. But Trouba was never a regular top-pairing defenseman in Winnipeg. Not as a rookie in 2013-14 and not in his final season there in 2018-19, when he posted a career-high 50 points.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pounder spent most of his time on the Jets’ second and third pairings, was third on the depth chart of right-handed defensemen behind Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers, and was No. 4 overall behind lefty Josh Morrisey (his defensive partner for much of his last two seasons in Winnipeg).
Trouba benefited from Myers and Byfuglien absorbing much of the spotlight from Jets’ fans and media, as well as from playing for just one coach, Paul Maurice, in his six seasons in Winnipeg. One coach, one system is ideal for any player, let alone a player as young as Trouba (he’s still just 26 years old).
But things changed with the trade and new contract.
The Rangers paid him top-pairing bucks before he even skated a single shift. Expectations skyrocketed. The Michigan-native went from playing in a Canadian prairie city of 750,000 people to the Broadway spotlight in a city of nearly 8 million. Thanks to his new contract, many expected the second coming of Brad Park and were left disappointed.
But again, was Trouba supposed to decline the dough?
As for those who point to Pionk’s season in Winnipeg and say the Rangers should’ve kept him, that’s easy to say now. But at the time of the trade, the Blueshirts were set with a pair of puck-moving/point-producing defensemen in Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox. Trouba brought an edge to New York’s blue line and is easily the most physical player of the quartet.
His season
Trouba’s offensive production dropped by 23 points from the previous season to 27 (seven goals, 20 assists). His minus-12 rating and takeaway/giveaway ratio of minus-26 look bad. And his penchant for yielding the line, backing in too deep, and making ill-advised pinches was evident to anyone blessed with vision.
But he also averaged a team-high 22:34 of ice time per match and he led the Blueshirts with 128 blocked shots and 173 hits. Trouba’s detractors have said (and continue to say) the high number of blocks and hits merely reflect him chasing the puck. But that’s garbage.
The Rangers won just 46.6 percent of their draws. Guess where that ranked among the league’s 31 teams? 30th overall, better than only the Buffalo Sabres’ 45.9%. So what else was Trouba supposed to do after his team lost the draw or committed a turnover? Or when he himself coughed up the puck?
Trouba often made opponents pay for parking in front of his own net and dawdling along the walls. His physical presence was something the team lacked and needs more of.
Would his numbers have been better with a better defense partner?
Trouba spent the majority of his 5-on-5 minutes paired mostly with Brady Skjei. The two became good friends at the U.S. National Development Program, but their friendship didn’t translate into success on the ice in New York.
Skjei was an exceptional skater with some offensive pop, but couldn’t play defense worth a lick and was shipped to Carolina last February for the Hurricanes’ second of two first round picks in the 2020 Entry Draft. Trouba then skated mostly with Brendan Smith and Marc Staal at even strength.
In other words, Trouba had more talented partners in Winnipeg. His New York colleagues played with great pride and effort, but none matched the caliber of a Byfuglien, Myers, or Morrisey.
There’s also the question of whether Trouba was hampered by the system of assistant coach Lindy Ruff, who was responsible for the defense.
Ruff was an exceptional defensive defenseman for the Sabres and Rangers, and coached Buffalo to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. But he bore the brunt of criticism for a Blueshirts’ defensive corps that wasn’t nearly as physical or aggressive as it needed to be, allowing 220 goals (tied for sixth-most in the NHL) and a league-worst 553 high-danger scoring chances against.
Ruff left the Rangers prior to their Qualifying Round series Carolina last August after accepting the head coaching job with the New Jersey Devils.
The numbers
Games: 70
Goals: 7
Assists: 20
Points: 27
PIMs: 61 (3rd on the team)
Blocked shots: 128 (16th in the NHL)
Hits: 173 (most on the team and 8th in the NHL)
ATOI: 22:34 (most on the team)
Corsi-for: 45.1%
Postseason: Trouba played in all three games of the Qualifying Round loss to Carolina, notching an assist, four blocked shots, and 14 hits. He led all Rangers defensemen with eight shots on goal and in average ice time per game at 22:25 (second among skaters to Mika Zibanejad’s 23:07).
Why the grade?
His points dipped from 50 with Winnipeg in 2018-19 to 27 last season, his first in New York. Perhaps he tried too hard to win over his new fans? Regardless, his 27 points rank fourth-best among his seven NHL seasons. And that was in 70 games compared to his having played all 82 in 2019.
Trouba’s projected totals for a full season in 2020 were eight goals and 31 points. In six seasons in Winnipeg, he averaged seven goals and 30 points per season. So, really, his offensive production was pretty much on par. He also deserves credit for being the consistent physical presence the Rangers thought he’d be.
Expectations
By all accounts, Trouba cares. A lot. He clearly tries hard every night. Chances are, he’s also smart enough to realize that he perhaps tried to do too much last season.
The off-season additions of veteran defenseman Jack Johnson and assistant coach Jacques Martin, a defensive guru, will help Trouba settle down next season.
Look for him to scale back on bad pinches, improve on standing up opponents at the line, and be more aggressive on the penalty kill. If he can clean up his game away from the puck, the points will be there, even the totals mirror his career averages. Of course, his overall success likely will be impacted by his defense partner whoever that might be.
Trouba played big minutes with Libor Hajek before the lefty’s play dropped off enough to require a demotion to AHL Hartford. Hajek (6-2, 196) will turn 23 in February and could benefit from having the physical Trouba as his partner. Johnson’s also a lefty, but it’s doubtful he’d be able to log the minutes needed to be Trouba’s regular cohort. Johnson, who will be 34 in January, was brought in for his leadership and to help the penalty-killing unit. That leaves Brendan Smith who filled ha role in the Stanley Cup Qualifier with some success, making that pairing a viable option.