The Rangers made an announcement today that certainly involves some serious head scratching. According to the team, they will not be naming a captain at this time. Instead, they will be going with not four, but SIX alternate captains to start the season.
Rangers name six alternate captains
The Rangers will go with Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Strome and Barclay Goodrow as their six alternates. Three will wear the A at home, and three others will wear it on the road.
What’s most interesting is that the two newest alternates (Strome and Goodrow) are not likely in the mix for the next captain.
It all should come down to Zibanejad, Trouba, and Kreider thanks to Panarin voluntarily taking his name out of the equation.
The 29 year-old Panarin made it clear in a Russian interview, “It’s not just putting a letter on the sweater and walking around taking pictures, it’s a lot of work in the locker room. It’s not just about playing good hockey.”
“I’m just afraid that I won’t be an effective captain. I don’t really speak English,” he said. “How can I motivate? I can influence the game on the ice and they will listen to me without any letters.”
Who will be the next Rangers captain?
The Rangers are going to be naming a captain this season. That’s been made clear by Chris Drury before the start of camp and by Gerard Gallant repeatedly during it.
Chris Kreider garnered a lot of attention with his willingness to get some form of retribution for Ryan Reaves’ injury against the Devils. We know he is certainly in the mix, but Jacob Trouba has been talked about by people as the likely next Rangers captain, including Joe Micheletti during that same broadcast.
“It’s cleary going to be Trouba,” I was told by a source familiar with the team. “I’d be shocked if it was anyone else.”
That was before Mika’s extension and now that it’s done, the decision isn’t as clear cut.
So who will it be? Trouba? Kreider? or the freshly signed Zibanejad? The answer is coming… we think.
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