The Rangers will enter their third consecutive season without a captain.
Head coach David Quinn announced on Wednesday that the team has appointed four alternative captains: Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba. Kreider and Zibanejad both wore the ‘A’ last season, but the departure of Jesper Fast (Hurricanes) and Marc Staal (Red Wings) left the Rangers with two vacancies.
Panarin and Trouba are both entering their second season at the Rangers and are key members of the team’s core.
It has been speculated that Kreider or Zibanejad would wear the ‘C’ this season after Quinn said the organization plans to ‘evaluate the situation’ at the start of training camp. But Kreider said the Rangers, who have not had a captain since Ryan McDonagh was handled by the 2018 trade deadline, do not consider it a big deal.
‘Maybe it’s not something people want to hear, but I think a lot of times [the captaincy] is more for the fan base than anyone else, ”Kreider said on a Zoom call on Wednesday. ‘At the end of the day, you need a large group of leaders to achieve any kind of success. I mean, there are a number of guys in our room who are ready to take on leadership roles. And as I said before, I think even of the younger guys, guys who are in their second, third year, there will be a time when they have to lead, or they have to get up and do the right thing in the dressing room or lead through the example on the ice.
“There can be no passengers if we are to succeed. You look back at the teams that have been successful over the last few years, everyone knows their role, everyone buys in and does their job to the best of their ability. Those teams have incredible depth. As long as everyone is moving in the same direction, I think we will be in good shape. ”
Zibanejad continued to train with the Rangers after testing positive for COVID-19 at the start of training camp, but his status for Thursday’s season opener against the islanders was still in the air on Wednesday.
“We’ll have a clearer picture of what it’s going to be,” Quinn said. ‘As for minutes, it will only be monitored during the match. Clearly we know he had COVID and that everyone else is reacting to it, so it’s definitely going to be a move by a move decision. ”
Quinn has announced that newcomer Igor Shesterkin will get nets for the first time of the 2020-21 season. The islanders are expected to start Semyon Varlamov.
The Rangers officially named Morgan Barron, Anthony Bitetto, Colin Blackwell, Libor Hajek, Keith Kinkaid and Matthew Robertson in their taxi team.