Rangers defenseman wins Mark Messier Leadership Award

As the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs continue, the National Hockey League has steadily released the names of award winners, this time announcing New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba as the 2023-24 Mark Messier Leadership Award winner.  

The award is given “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”

While the players or the media vote on most awards in the NHL, this award is given by Messier himself, after taking suggestions from NHL organizations and their personnel.  Messier, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, is viewed as one of the more prominent leaders in league history with the NHL creating this award in the same year as his Hall of Fame induction.

Prior to the 2020-21 NHL season, Trouba was named the 28th captain in the history of the Rangers organization; becoming the fourth-straight American-born captain for the club. This season, Trouba captained New York to a franchise record for wins and points in a single season, while being an integral part of a top-five penalty kill. 

Off the ice, Trouba has been a focal member of the youth hockey community, while also becoming a leading member in the Garden of Dreams, Epilepsy Foundation, and Hockey Fights Cancer. Trouba becomes the first member of the Rangers to win the award, as well as the first defenseman since Mark Giordano in 2020.