Taking a look at the leadership styles of the NY Rangers' captain candidates

By the time the Oct. 13 regular-season opener arrives, the New York Rangers are expected to have someone wearing a “C” on their chest.

That, according to new head coach Gerard Gallant, is the plan.

It’s been three-and-a-half seasons since now two-time champ Ryan McDonagh was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the captaincy vacant ever since.

Both Gallant and team president Chris Drury have decided it’s finally time to pass the responsibility on.

“It’s a priority,” Gallant said Wednesday. “Some of the players talked about it last year, saying they’d like a captain. There are some good choices.”

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Figuring out who it will be is not as easy as some might think, with a few deserving candidates but no clear front-runner.

“The entire time I’ve been here, it’s been on the chest of the guy who's been the figurehead and the example on the ice,” Chris Kreider said Thursday. “But the most important thing has been the collective group of leaders that we've had and a healthy blend of young guys. You can't just have the right guy wearing the ‘C’ and not have him surrounded by vets who are going to perpetuate that message.”

Spoken like a true captain, which is why someone believe the Rangers’ longest-tenured player will ultimately be the choice.

But if you were handicapping the race, you can't dismiss the possibility of two others — No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad and veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba.

It’s not out of the question for a fourth option to emerge, but the expectation is that it will be one from the aforementioned trio. They each have a compelling case in their own right, which is why it feels like relatively even 1/3 odds for each.

In the past few days, I asked Kreider, Zibanejad and Trouba to describe how they function as leaders. Each brings a different approach, but I wanted to hear it directly from the sources.

Chris Kreider

The 30-year-old would be the most introspective choice.

He's always been a deep thinker and he's cultivated his leadership style over the years to reflect that.

"It's about being genuine, true to yourself, not trying to be something that you're not," Kreider said Thursday. "I've always been the young guy on every team that I've ever been on growing up. After everything four or five years ago, I quickly became the old guy. So, for me, it was about figuring out who I was as a leader, as a veteran. And that's something I'm continuing to do and continue to grow and work on every single day."

That "self-awareness," as Kreider put it, has helped him become an effective communicator without being a "rah-rah cheerleader." He's steadfast in reinforcing the coaching staff's message, both behind closed doors and through the media, and his commitment to taking care of his body sets a strong example.

But he views his most important leadership role as guiding teammates on an individual basis. He's become a mentor for young players such as Alexis Lafrenière and Filip Chytil by serving as a sounding board and offering advice where he can.

"I like working with people one-on-one," he said. "I've been around long enough and experienced enough to share some of that experience and to be compassionate — to be empathetic (and) understanding of a position that a guy might be in, to approach guys, not necessarily with all the answers, but to listen, to understand."

Mika Zibanejad

Much like Kreider, the 28-year-old center prefers to lead without bluster.

In fact, Zibanejad is even quieter in his demeanor, projecting a calmness that his teammates have remarked rubs off on the group.

"I try to lead by example," he said Thursday. "I might not be the one standing in front of the whole group every game or every practice just to talk, but I try to do my part one-on-one for the young guys, or whoever it is. It's not that I'm trying to think of what I should do as a leader; I just have a different type of leadership than some other guys."

Zibanejad's biggest influence is in the way he plays.

Former coach David Quinn once said, "Mika only goes full bore." He's been the team's leading goal-scorer for the past four seasons, but there's no diva in the talented Swede.

Zibanejad is low maintenance and gives maximum effort in all situations — offense, defense, power play and penalty kill. 

That all-around impact is why young players on the team, particularly the forwards, model themselves after him, probably more so than anyone else on the team.

Zibanejad's expiring contract is undoubtedly a factor in the captain decision.

If the Rangers have any doubts about signing him to an extension, it doesn't make sense to give him the "C." But if they can reach a deal before camp ends — and the two sides are talking — then perhaps the captaincy is viewed as the perfect cherry on top.

For his part, Zibanejad isn't revealing whether that would provide extra incentive.

"We’ll get to that if that question comes up," he said. "I'm sure whoever gets it is going to do a great job. Obviously, the other guys that have been wearing the 'A' are not going to shy away or just disappear because one guy has a 'C.' It’s a group thing."

Jacob Trouba

At this time last year, Kreider and Zibanejad were considered the only viable candidates. But the 27-year-old defenseman emerged as a key member of the leadership group last season.

Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, stories began to surface about Trouba standing up in front of the group when a message needed to be delivered.

"He's getting more comfortable — and more vocal," fellow defenseman Ryan Lindgren said in May. "He knows that the guys really look up to him and really, really trust what he says. He's a guy that, when he steps up in the locker room and says something, guys are going to sit there and listen and really take to heart what he's saying."

Trouba pointed to the loss of key veterans as the impetus for his expanding role, but he's shown both fiery and sensitive sides that have endeared him to his teammates.

"I think I've grown in that aspect," he said Saturday. "There's been so much change, even from when I came in, with now (Henrik Lundqvist) being gone, with Marc (Staal) being gone. That's a big turnover for what this team was for a lot of years. It's not something where you can easily just turn the page. ... Now, we’re not starting from scratch, but we're trying to build our team, our culture, what our team does – our identity. That’s a part of it."

That new identity has Trouba at the forefront.

It took him time to adjust from the small-market Winnipeg Jets to the spotlight of the big city, but now it wouldn't surprise anyone if he's the next Rangers' captain.

"It would be an honor, for sure," he said.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.