I don’t love this (I don’t think Trouba always leads by example and he doesn’t strike me as a very intelligent guy), but the team just went through a long, grueling and intense playoff run.
Gallant and Drury probably learned a ton about the players on this team over those two months and saw all they needed to.
I don't think that's fair. Trouba's wife is a doctor. Just because he may not be the smartest, doesn't mean he isn't meant to be a leader.
A leader surrounds himself with the right people and when the going gets tough, he resets the room. From what I have seen, the guys really like trouba. He is easy going, but a monster on the ice and he wants to be here. I KNOW ITS NEW YORK, but that's not always true. You have to love this city to be committed to it and he does.
Remember tom wilson? Trouba wasn't there for that. Look what happened. Yeah they got reaves as insurance but no one and I mean no one will mess with our guys when trouba is on the ice. And he is on the ice a lot. Getting hit by that dude is like getting hit by a monster truck driven by a dude on 2g of coke.
He also fixed the room in the playoffs. You know he is clutch. Yes he f-----d up multiple times and most players make mistakes, but his game can change a series. Having that as the face of your franchise is gnarly. He also just isn't a bad player. He is okay on defense, actually a very capable offensive defenseman, can eat minutes, and his partner is improving too. Together, they will get better.