Who should wear the 'C'?
As most of you may have noticed, especially if one of them is your team, a lot of the team out there have yet to name their new captains.
Some of them, like Minnesota and Buffalo, have never actually had a full-time captain, they have always rotated the ‘C’ monthly.
Some of them have traded their Captain, or lost them to free agency, like New Jersey with Scott Steven/Scott Niedermayer, or New York with Messier, or Anaheim with Rucchin.
The list goes on.
So, I have decided to go though each team that doesn’t have a captain and name who I think should be the captain by October 1st. Here we go…
Anaheim Mighty Ducks: Keith Carney
I know some of you would say that Niedermayer should get it. I disagree for now, give Nieds the ‘A’ that Carney has now. Carney was a rock for the Ducks in their cup run a few years ago and is already a true leader, also, he has been with the ducks longer that Nieds, obviously. He deserves it.
Atlanta Thrashers: Scott Mellanby
Eventually, in my opinion, I think Kovalchuk will be Atlanta’s Captain, even at a young age like the Bruins did with Thornton or Florida with Jokinen. But for now, Mellanby should be the Thrasher’s leader. At 39 years old, he definitely had the experience to lead this young team for al least the next 2 years.
Boston Bruins: Joe Thornton
Named Captain: 2002
Buffalo Sabres: Daniel Briere & Chris Drury
Named Co-Captains of the team on September 15, 2005. I would have left Briere as Captain and gave Drury an ‘A’ along with Numminen.
Calgary Flames: Jarome Iginla
Named Captain: 2003
Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind’Amour
Named Captain: 2005
Chicago Blackhawks: Eric Daze
The guy has been quite injury-prone the last couple of seasons so he’s been in and out of the lineup, however, he’s been the Alternate for a long time and knows how to lead a team as second in charge. I’d give him the ‘C’ and if he just doesn’t end up having the leadership qualities, hand it over to none other than Mr. Aucoin.
Colorado Avalanche: Joe Sakic
Named Captain: 1992
Columbus Blue Jackets: Luke Richardson
Named Captain: 2003
Dallas Stars: Mike Modano
Named Captain: 2003
Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman
Named Captain: 1986
Edmonton Oilers: Jason Smith
Named Captain: 2001
Florida Panthers: Olli Jokinen
Named Captain: 2003
Los Angeles Kings: Mattias Norstrom
Named Captain: 2001
Minnesota Wild: Brian Rolston
I wouldn’t Name him Captain over a lot of other players in the NHL, however, those players don’t play for Minnesota. He’s the best leader they have.
Montreal Canadians: Saku Koivu
Named Captain: 2000
Nashville Predators: Greg Johnson
Named Captain: 2002
New Jersey Devils: Patrik Elias
It is an extremely hard task to try and step in and replace Scott Stevens as this teams captain, no one on this current team can step in and even compare to Stevens. If I had to pick a new Captain I’d pick Marty Brodeur, BUT, you can’t name your goalie the captain so I’ll settle with Patrik Elias. Don’t know if his leadership qualities are good enough but he’s the new face of the Devils, along with Brodeur.
New York Islanders: Alexei Yashin
Named Captain: 2005
New York Rangers: Steve Rucchin
Even bigger shoes to fill in New York and it won’t be easy for whoever steps forward to wear the ‘C’. Jagr is a puss; he doesn’t want to do anything but make money so he turned down the Captaincy. If I were to pick a Captain I would then turn to newly acquired Steve Rucchin. He was the Captain of the Ducks and is a genuine born leader. He’s no Messier, but he’ll do.
Ottawa Senators: Daniel Alfredsson
Named Captain: 1999
Philadelphia Flyers: Keith Primeau
Named Captain: 2001
Phoenix Coyotes: Shane Doan
Named Captain: 2003
Pittsburgh Penguins: Mario Lemieux
Named Captain: 1988 & 2001
San Jose Sharks: Patrick Marleau
Named Captain: 2004
St. Louis Blues: Dallas Drake
Named Captain: 2005
Tampa Bay Lightning: Dave Andreychuk
Named Captain: 2002
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mats Sundin
Named Captain: 1997
Vancouver Canucks: Markus Naslund
Named Captain: 2000
Washington Capitals: Jeff Halpern
Named Captain: 2005
So there it is. Let me know who you would name as the new Captain.
17 Responses to Who should wear the 'C'?
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I’d give the Rangers captain to Kasparitis, he’ll be the loudest in the locker room and he’ll have to step up as a leader. I could see Rucchin the captain when Kasper gets hurt 2 weeks into the season though….
I’d give the Rangers captain to Kasparitis, he’ll be the loudest in the locker room and he’ll have to step up as a leader. I could see Rucchin the captain when Kasper gets hurt 2 weeks into the season though….
I’d give the Rangers captain to Kasparitis, he’ll be the loudest in the locker room and he’ll have to step up as a leader. I could see Rucchin the captain when Kasper gets hurt 2 weeks into the season though….
finger spasms?
As a Dallas fan, I like seeing Modano as the captain. He’s their franchise player, and seeing him wearing that jersey with the C on it just looks right…but if I were to pick someone else, I’d consider Stu Barnes. I don’t know why, I just like the guy. He’s a veteran, he’s been a captain before, and he plays hard.
I don’t know if I see Elias as captain for the Devils. What about Rafalski?
I like Yashin as captain for the Islanders. I don’t he doesn’t seem like captain material, but this is his team now. Maybe he’ll lead a team that’s built around him better than he would a team that didn’t like him.
I can’t even remember who the Rangers have right now. They lost alot of guys. Jagr would be a terrible captain. For all the sh*t Yashin gets, I think Jagr is just as bad, if not worse. Rucchin would be a good choice.
I think Lindin should be the captain in Vancouver.
Mellanby has already been named Atlanta’s captain, no surprise there.
Rolston would make a decent captain for the Wild, but he has yet to play a regular season game for them. I can understand if you’re bringing in a proven leader like Mellanby and decide to make him captain without ever having played for his new team, but making Rolston the captain immediately would be a bit of a snub to guys who have been part of the team for longer … but as it turns out there aren’t many stand-out veterans on the Wild roster. I’d expect a rotating captaincy again, with guys like Willie Mitchell or Wes Walz wearing the C at some point.
I also like Kasparaitis as the Rangers’ captain – I heard he didn’t want to be bought out by them (and MAKE money in the process, as the buy-out money and any new contract he’d sign would have been more than his old contract)? The guy plays the game hard and is surely respected by Jagr & friends … Rucchin was the named the Ducks captain partly because he had been with the them for so damn long; he may not instantly command that same respect with his new team. But when Kasparaitis inevitably gets hurt (because he plays the game so hard), then perhaps by then Rucchin will have been worked-in as a leader on the ice, bench, and dressing room.
Elias may seem like a logical choice to be the Devils captain, but I just have a hard time picturing him with the “C”. He has enough problems to deal with recovering from Hepatitis A, nevermind coming back and leading the team. Maybe a guy like John Madden? The only other candidates I can see would be Mogilny, Rafalski, and Matvichuk.
And Daze as the Hawks captain would be funny. If he leads by example, then expect half the team to follow his lead and end up on the IR.
Detroit Red Wings: Steve Yzerman
Named Captain: 1986
This is an amazing accomplishment. Stevie Y may be my favorite never-Flyers player.
Glad to hear about Mellanby. Atlanta is my ‘team to watch’this year. I think Hossa will explode under Bob Hartley.
No way in heaven or hell that Kovalchuk will wear the “C” for Atlanta. He’s their best scorer, that’s it. Your captain should be your best leader, not your best player (unless the two happen to be the same). But that’s certainly not the case here. A good candidate for future captain is Jim Slater, once he gets a few years under his belt.
Mellanby will be good for this year, that’s about it. Unless he finds a fountain of youth, this year should be it for him. Besides, it’s the curse of the captain in Atlanta; short stints, get traded or not re-signed (in Mellanby’s case, one year then retirement). Holik will likely take over the “C” afterwards.
From what I hear Elias is a leader but not a Captain. I think if anyone should wear the “C” it should be Madden.
But notice fans always want the flashy player to be captain.You want captain material you look at guys like yzerman, even when injured the players look up to him.I don’t know about Slater being captain, he’s a good guy and has leadership potential, but will he keep that mentality in the big league.I think Holik will be captain next year also
Why Luc Robitaille isn’t captain of the Kings ??? Stange…
Cause he left for the Red Wings and Norstrom has been it since then.
first of and last off, you say Jagr turned down the captaincy, he f*ckin didnt, he said “he’d be honered” to wear the ‘C’.
Time will tell with Slater. He certainly won’t be captain anytime soon. He needs to establish himself as a player in the NHL first. But I think that type of mentality doesn’t fade as you transfer from college to the pros; if it’s there in someone, it’s there to stay.
All he does is play tough and give it his all, willing to do whatever needs to be done. Of course at this stage of his career he is going to have to learn the NHL game and prove himself. So it’ll be at least a few years before you can start thinking of him as a captain, but he definitely has that in him. It’s something you can’t really take away from a player if he has it.
Four or five years down the road, I can see him at least being given consideration for the spot. We’ll see, I guess. But I do think he is that kind of player, so do quite a few others.
yea…..i watched him say it on MSG interactive…..he’ll be the captain but i also heard that tom renney is thinking of doing what jaques lamaire did….and switch the captains. whoever has watched the rangers so far, everyone has been a captain for a game…during this preseason i went to the most recent rangers isles game at the garden and the captains were lundmark, ortmeyer, and i forgot the other. in other games it was jagr strudwick and ruchinsky and so on thru out games. i think the rangers captain will be jagr, their alternates will be rucchin and kasperitus
madden for captain! after seeing the guy play with that huge gash on his face in the last cup run we made I think he is definitely a front runner if anyone is.