The New York Rangers came close to returning to the Stanley Cup Final last season, starting with a Round 1 sweep of the Washington Capitals and a hard-fought seven-game series win over the Carolina Hurricanes. However, their run was halted by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals, leaving captain Jacob Trouba to wonder aloud how much longer the current core of Rangers leadership has to contend for the title.
In Trouba’s mind, it seems clear that the window for the current core — including himself, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider — to secure a championship is closing.
“In all likelihood, this will probably be the last crack for this core,” Trouba revealed, per The Athletic. “I don’t think it’s a secret by any means. [We’re] a group that’s kind of grown together, spent some years together here, and there’s something we want to accomplish.”
Trouba and the Rangers squandered a two-games-to-none series lead in the 2022 ECF against the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning, who went on to win four straight games to advance. In 2023, their season came to an end in the opening round against their arch-rival New Jersey Devils, despite initially leading that series two games to none as well.
Jacob Trouba was embroiled in controversy during the summer
Entering the final year of his contract, Trouba was the subject of trade rumors over the offseason, with reports indicating the Rangers had a deal in place to send him to his hometown Detroit Red Wings. However, the trade fell through after Trouba added the Wings to his 15-team no-trade list.
Trouba appeared reluctant to discuss the situation in detail after the first day of Rangers training camp.
“I had good communication with the organization throughout. I don’t really have much else to comment on,” Trouba said via TSN of the offseason rumors. “There were a lot of things that were said and snowballed. …You’re going to have to find out where they came from. If you find out, let me know.”
As far as any lingering hard feelings stemming from the offseason trade rumor drama, Trouba insists that there is none.
“Obviously, had the no-move that turned into the partial no-trade,” said Trouba. “That’s life, contracts, hockey business, whatever you want to call it. I knew that was coming that summer. It’s not by surprise. It was obviously something that was negotiated at the time.”
Trouba and the Rangers open their season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road on October 9.
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