Jacob Trouba's time in New York may be coming to an end.

The New York Rangers may be set to move on from their current captain in a most unusual manner.

In a recent publication for The Athletic, both Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal laid out a case for a buyout involving the New York Rangers captain, a move that would not only strip him of his captaincy but one that would also remove him from the team's roster entirely.

Although Trouba is the defacto locker room leader for the Rangers as the organization's captain, it became more and more evident through the Stanley Cup playoffs that Trouba was something of a liability for the franchise. Not only did Trouba fail to play up to the massive cap hit of $8 million per season he carries on his current contract, but it seemed as though he was better suited as a bottom pairing defenseman for the Rangers at many different times.

Things got so bad in fact that many Rangers fans have demanded Trouba be shipped out of New York, viewing him as a liability on the ice.

What makes this all the more intriguing is the fact that a buyout of Trouba would likely be quite palatable for the Rangers as far as the salary cap is concerned. The Rangers would immediately save $4 million against the cap in the first two seasons of the buyout, and would only take on a penalty of $2 million for the 2 following seasons. Freeing up an additional $4 million in cap space for a team in win-now mode, with players like Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider all on the wrong side of 30, would be huge during their window of contention.

The Rangers would likely prefer a scenario in which they could work out a trade, but you would be hard pressed to find any team in the National Hockey League willing to take on Trouba's contract without the Rangers having to give up additional assets in the deal. Further complicating matters is Trouba's no-movement clause, which allows him to block any potential trades the Rangers would attempt to make. The good news for the Rangers is that no movement clause becomes a modified no trade clause this coming season, but that still gives Trouba a list of 15 teams that he can block a trade to.

It sounds like we could see an NHL captain stripped of his captaincy via a buyout this summer.