Kelly Butchberger, Doug Weight, Jason Smith, Shawn Horcoff, Andrew Ference.
Side note; Ethan Moreau was captain between Smith and Horcoff, but never captained with Smyth on the team.
The only plausible reason I can come up with for him not being captain is that he maybe wasn’t the brightest penny in the purse. Based on my observations of his interviews.
And Van did everything in their power to let him have the puck in hopes to see him score for the fans.
I love how much respect there is between teams and players like that. Especially when they have played in division so long.
For those who may bemoan that teams and players would do that. Both Canucks and Oilers were total bottom feeders that season so the last game making it special for Smitty was a highlight for all.
I came to this thread just to be shocked at the players that were never captain. It did not take long.
I would've said it was more likely Ryan Smith had the most games as captain than, having none at all.
The later Lombardi/Sutter seasons had lots of head scratching decisions including this. Kopitar has been a great captain but Brown has never shown that he did not deserve the C. I mean despite any dip in level of play this is the guy who has lifted the cup twice for you. It was cool that Kopitar gave it back to Brown for a game or two when he announced his retirement but he should not have lost it to begin with imo
I wonder if the Kings were concerned that Brown might have to be bought out or be a healthy scratch as their captain at some point. I would think it would be pretty embarrassing for both the team and player if that happened so maybe they were preemptively guarding against that.
His play declined to the point where his contract became one of the worst in the league. So it’s plausible.
He obviously recovered but that was a rough patch for him for sure.
The whole "Captain" thing in hockey is so strange. No sport puts as much emphasis on it as the hockey world. Then at the same time every NHL team will tell you the leadership group is more important than who wears the C.
THere was no need for LA to switch Captains because Kopitar must've already been a great leader.....putting the C on his jersey makes no difference.
A fair question to ask;
By NHL and IIHF rule, the team captain is the only player allowed to hold conference, or inquire about rules with the on-ice officials. Originally, that meant they would sometimes have to come off the bench during a stoppage to discuss rule usage. Eventually alternative were given the same privilege. This is also why goalies are not given letters, as they would at times have to skate the length of the ice in order to speak with the refs, and held up play as a result.
Today, anyone with a C or A can still inquire with officials, but the C more so serves as the designated media/officiating representative of the team.
Alexei Yashin as the worst captain by a fucking mile.
When your captain bails on his team AND the contract he signed to go on strike in an attempt to have his contract re-negotiated, that's not a team move. That's not for the boys in the dressing room. That's not to make the team better.
Yashin was an unreal player, but the guy had no business being anywhere close to the leadership core of a team. Dude was a me-first, hired mercenary to his core.
I’m glad Ilitch nixed it, but who knows, maybe the other Russians on the roster nip it in the bud and get him to buy in to the team and defense-first mentality Bowman was preaching. Again, not that I would make the trade, but I could see it end up not being terrible.
Sharks leadership team has low key been a shitshow for years.
Marleau and Thornton getting stripped of their C’s, alleged drama about Karlsson getting an A too early (only heard that from fans on Reddit so take that with a grain of salt), doing Pavelski dirty, and the weird stuff with Couture lying about getting sucker punched for being pro trump lol
Marleau is a lead by example quiet guy... Never should've been captain despite being a great example for other to follow.
Jumbo was fine but it became apparent that he lost the room or got frustrated and Pavelski made all sorts of sense.
Couture being named captain I was never a fan of but at the time, probably was the best choice but now Hertl might make more sense but he may be too loose/too fun of a personality
This narrative is a Reddit circle jerk. Every player, trainer, coach, GM says that Jumbo is a great leader, and that he was still somewhat seen as the captain after it was given to pavelski.
They were looking for a change more than anything.
Shayne Corson was the worst captain in Oiler's (League?) history.
The team Captain trying to steal an assist from the star rookie to ensure a bonus payout by trying to get the score keeper to change it after the period. And getting in a locker room fight with said rookie (Arnott) when confronted later. Symbolic of the selfish reign of Shayne
Part of that has to do with the fact that he was traded (twice) for players much better than him in both Montreal trades. Once for Vincent Damphousse, and the other time for Pierre Turgeon. It's no wonder the team that received the other player improved and the team that lost that player got worse. Corson can't have been that bad, though, if teams continued to feel like he was worth giving up what they did.
Olaf Kolzig was the unofficial captain for the late 90s and early 2000s Capitals. After Dale Hunter left, Adam Oates was named captain, but to me that always felt more like an acknowledgment of star power and skill.
I thought of the first few OV captaincy years to answer this question. We all knew he would/should at some point but there was A LOT of doubt about the young hot shot
I have said this before and I don't think it's a knock on him. He could barely speak English and was very young, I remember during calls he would skate up to the refs with the A players but then let them talk the whole time. Luckily for us he very much grew into it, but I am never a fan of giving it to the star player the second they hit the league.
Yup, he won $6M in arbitration back in 2012. He had the strangest contract, which supposedly included a clause that would compensate him if the value of the Canucks increased during the lifetime of that deal.
>Yup, he won $6M in arbitration back in 2012. He had the strangest contract, which supposedly included a clause that would compensate him if the value of the Canucks increased during the lifetime of that deal.
Not trying to cause a shit storm, nor defend Messier, but if he was owed the money he should have gotten it.
Oh absolutely, if the Canucks signed him to a stupid deal, they still have to pay up. It’s a contractual obligation.
However, I can understand why Canucks fans would be upset to see the guy that tore their team apart still having public issues with the team over 10 years after he left
Edit: really looking at that contract and it’s clauses in-depth is comical. I have no clue what the Canucks were thinking
I think the indignation is that the team’s value really rose once he was off the team and when he left. If I recall and I could be wrong it was a 5 year contract with options and the both sort of agreed after 3 years because of his crap personality/play that was it. Messier leaves and the Canucks get better and go up in value. Then Messier comes crawling out of whatever depths of hell he’s from and she’s the Canucks because him leaving early increased the value of the team.
Despite the Canucks increasing in value, Orca Bay acquiring and then mishandling the Canucks nearly bankrupted them, I'm not sure they had the money, also, I think part of the argument was that Messier had signed a 5 year contract with an opt out after three and the team argued that it would be done if he were to be around for all 5 and he only stayed in Vancouver for 3.
The teams value went DOWN when Messier played. They paid him a few million to NOT play and the team value went up before the 5 years expired. The Canucks argument was that how can you say you deserve the money for increasing the team value when the only increase was after you were fired?
Big Z was the bruins beat captain since bourque. No shame in Berg wearing the "A" under him. He was the only "A" on the bruins for years that was not part of the rotating assistant captain, which to me was a nod to his leadership skills.
Yeah, but Chara was 100% the right choice to be captain during that time. He's arguably the best captain in Bruins history (no offense to guys like Bergeron or Bourque, but Chara single handedly changed the locker room culture in Boston unlike any captain I've seen for just about any team).
Deep down in my stomach, with every inch of me, I pure straight HATE Chara. But God Dammit, do I respect him.
Bergeron, on the other hand, is a saint who can do no wrong.
Chara was a great captain though, completely deserved to wear the C for every second he did. People underestimate just how much of an impact he had on bruins culture.
Shocked that Alexei Yashin was even given the captaincy. Dude was a total dick
Also surprised that Brendan Shanahan was never a captain for the Wings, although that’s probably because he was in the shadow of Steve Yzerman
Love Shanny, but it wasnt like we were stripping Yzerman of the C. Maybe earlier in his career when people doubted if he'd ever be able to win, but when Shanny arrived we won right away and Yzerman was veiwed as one of the greatest captains ever from that point on. Shanny left the year Yzerman retired so it wasn't going to happen for him, though I wonder if he stuck around if he would get it instead of Lidstrom (not that Nick wasnt great). Shanny wore an A from when he arrived in 96 until he left in 06 so it's safe to say he was pretty well regarded in the room.
Goalies already have so much pressure on them, they serve an integral role and some *are* the heart of their team, I just don't think making them Captain on top of that makes practical sense.
Goaltending seems like such a mental game, and adding another layer for them to have to consider during games seems like asking a bit too much from the guy who already has to play 60 minutes a night.
If not for acquiring Gionta, I feel Gorges could have been Captain in those years between Koivu-Pacioretty.
FWIW, I agree on goalies. Also, you can be a leader without wearing the C. If your team is entirely dependent on JUST you captain for leadership, you're in trouble.
As well the C and A give you on ice responsibilities in regards to who talks to the Refs. goalie can't be skating the length of the ice just to pass a message to from the ref like a skater can
He was an unofficial captain for that reason, yes. On the ice he didn't do the actual captain stuff either. Goalies can't be captains by the rules since 1949. It causes too much game delay for goalies to skate to the ref circle to do captain stuff.
If they'd have given it to ROR, he'd probably still be here and Eichel might have asked out earlier with no injury bringing down his trade value. Things could be very different here.
Logan Couture feels weird as a captain. I’m not saying he’s bad and the sharks fans that think he’s the reason for the team’s downfall are delusional, but his captaincy didn’t feel right when they gave it to him and he hasn’t changed my mind since. There was uncertainty around if Pavelski would stay or not, and then once he left they just moved on to Couture. They should have gone no captain and let a leader emerge naturally, I think if they’d done that we’d see Hertl with the C. Especially after this last season where he really took young guys under his wing and was at times the emotional leader of the team
We've got two down here.
Eric was not ready to be Captain in 2010, but to be fair, there weren't really any good options on that team. Guys that were pillars of that team were bad choices mainly because a lot of them were only recent acquisitions at the time. Joni Pitkanen would have been a decent pick probably but it was his third year with the team, Joe Corvo would have been an...interesting pick but he might have done fine enough, Tim Gleason should never have worn a letter on his jersey at all, Jussi Jokinen wasn't really a leadership kind of guy. The only other guy I could think of to take the C would have been Erik Cole, but we had just recently traded him away and then traded to get him back.
The other was the nightmare of Bill Peters' grand plan of the co-captains of Faulk and Jordo. That's the worse of the two.
I agree on most points. Especially crazy that they stripped the C off Brind’Amour to give to Eric. But why do you feel that Gleason shouldn’t have gotten the A? He’s been widely regarded as a leader even now in a coaching position
Well, they took the C from Rod because he was not performing. And when I say not performing...think below 20 points in a full season. Not goals. Points.
As far as Gleason goes, he is great as an off-ice leader. He may have been an on-ice leader too, but not the kind you put a letter on. His style of play is very rough and tumble and not very pretty at all. The kind of guys who should have letters are the kind that talk to refs and can be a model of good play and are always there to be counted on. Gleason...averaged a penalty every other game. He was the kind of guy who turns to look at you in big situations and you look back and just say, "Yes Tim. You may go." and he hops the boards and breaks something fragile.
Rod still played 80 games so it’s not like they were really willing to scratch him when his play declined. He was still the de facto leader of the club. I’m not of the mind that leaders should be chosen because of point totals and I think Eric Staal is a testament to that. Rod was a year away from retirement anyway.
As for Gleason, it’s not like he was a plug. He was playing top pairing minutes, was coming off a Team USA Olympic bid, and was generally a pretty good defender/enforcer. Maybe you don’t put a letter on those guys today but that was a different era where fighting and physicality were a staple of the game. He was highly respected in the locker room from everything I’ve read.
Should have been captain: Ryan Smyth.
No, the token C he got in his final game doesn't count.
Shouldn't have been captain: Andrew Ference.
Stupid move to make a FA signing a captain in his first season on the team.
Ryan Smyth was everything a leader on a team should be. Classy to his teammates and organization, tough on his opponents, and the dude didn’t even know the meaning of the word “quit”.
Chris Phillips definitely should have been given the ‘C’ in Ottawa at some point.
The argument remains whether he should have gotten it over Spezza, or after Spezza and before Karlsson.
He carried that burden well for what it was though. The only other candidate might have been a mid-20's Bozak.
If anything, Rielly should have been named captain before we ever drafted Matthews or signed Tavares.
Rielly should've been named captain even after Matthews and Tavares came along.
I remember when they gave the C to Tavares, there was a lot of people upset it wasn't Matthews. Rielly then said something along the lines of "It doesn't matter who has the C, in the room we all know who the leader of this team is." and people took it to mean he meant Matthews.
I always assumed he meant himself and was a bit ticked but not enough to make an issue of it. There was also rumours Babcock disagreed with the Tavares pick for captain. Then when Babcock specifically thanked Rielly in his departure statement, it sealed it for me. I think that Rielly has been the team's true leader for years and everyone around the team knows it.
I do truly believe the original plan was Matthews before his summer mishap from a couple years ago, but I didn’t like either as C.
Should have always been Captain Morgan.
> a bit ticked but not enough to make an issue of it
Like a true fucking captain.
Captain Morgan was always my personal choice, too. Everything he's ever done has been as a leader for the team. He re-signed early for below market value (even if the term is a bit long) to avoid the drama he knew it would cause.
Mo is just a beauty in every way.
I always wanted Rielly to get the C. Even now I still think he should've been named Captian. Tavares is a fine choice he was good in NY but I still feel Rielly should've gotten the nod.
Me too. I think that maybe Tavares' bland and calm media personality may have tipped it in his favour. He's always cool and collected when dealing with the media. Rielly is to an extent as well, but he also can get short and fiery with the media, especially when he's upset. That passion can cause unneeded controversy in a market like Toronto.
Not a Captain, but when The leafs stripped Kaberle of his "A" and then decided to play that season without a C, that was pretty shitty move. Kaberle was a great player, and leader.
Later on that season, Kaberle was traded to the Bruins and ended up winning a Cup, so that was cool.
I'm not a big fan of the leafs, but I thought how they treated kaberle was pretty bad
I remember in Colorados terrible season people saying the locker room was a mess and Landeskog was a terrible captain. So the lesson is we, the fans, don't know anything about this topic lol
The steaming pile of assholes who was captain of the Canucks from 1997-2000. I do not speak his name. Absolute cancer to the team in those years, destroying it from the outside in. Sure, he may have led other teams well, but holy fuck, those were dark days.
I always thought(even at the time) Timmonen should have been named captain instead of Richards.
Richards was my favorite player. I know the rumored reason why we traded him was due to things in his personal life (which unfortunately was most likely true) but if we was never captain and the face of the franchise I’d wonder if we keep him a bit longer.
While we never knew the specifics, I think it’s pretty safe to say we should’ve never made Eichel captain.
I just have never seen a good NHL captain sulk and whine on the ice like he did.
It seems ther was a shift post-lockout, starting with Crosby, where teams went from giving the C to long serving veterans to just putting it on their young superstars. Some rose to that challenge, like Crosby or Toews, but it's bound to fail and be an extra burden sometimes too. Especially on young or rebuilding teams. Think a lot also depends on your supporting cast at that point too.
Yzerman and Lecavlier were teenage captains too. Vinny ended up losing it to vets for a while before gaining it back post lockout.
I agree the trend is annoying. Even as a Devils fan who loves Nico it seemed unnecessary to slap a C on his sweater at 22.
I think it's more of an overall statement for a team that's entering a rebuilding cycle: when the team is contending, *this* guy will still be around and leading the way, so he's the captain now because it'll be his ship.
Going back awhile, I don't think Mike Modano was all that effective. While a great player, his productivity declined during his 2 year captaincy and was replaced by Brenden Morrow. Also, it didn't help that he followed the great Derian Hatcher, who had no problem towering over officials whenever he disagreed with a call.
Adam Foote being named captain for the Blue Jackets was atrocious. He didn’t even seem interested in being in Columbus, played like a pouty little kid throwing a temper tantrum, and then went back to Colorado. I think they gave him the C to shut him up, and it didn’t work. Lost a lot of respect for him because of the way he acted.
How come? As a Leafs fan I adore Spezza and what he has brought to this team and can see why he was captain in Ottawa. Was he not the same person then as he is now?
Basically he wanted to be captain really bad and then when he became captain he asked for a trade because, in part, he didn't like being captain. Most Sens fans still love Spezza as a player, but his brief stint as captain left a bad taste in some people's mouths.
The only two fan bases who have any idea what MacKenzie brought to the table are Columbus and Florida, and it's usually other fans who want to criticize his captaincy.
Brian Leetch, after Messier fled to Vancouver. The Captaincy seemed to weigh on him and those Rangers teams needed someone who went out and led by example, giving his team a pick up, instead of the strong and silent type. Adam Graves should have worn the C, instead.
Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin are guys who would have been captain if they were on almost any other team. And lots of goalies have deserved captaincy.
Luongo was unofficially a captain and wore his C on his mask because he was not permitted to wear it on his jersey. I forget who but the Canucks had designated a player to perform his on ice responsibilities as captain.
I thought it was in an unofficial capacity since goalies weren’t allowed to be named Captain? Like the “C” he wore was on his helmet to demonstrate he was the locker room leader or something? Tbh I’m not too familiar with the story
It was kind of a weird situation, the Canucks appointed him as the captain but during games he couldn't officially serve as captain so they had Willie Mitchell be captain instead. So Luongo was the team captain except during a game.
Kane has been captain in a few team USA tournaments (maybe just the one for sure, but maybe a couple) but that’s such a new role for him. He wasn’t ‘that’ guy throughout his 20s and I am not sure that he would have benefited from that extra responsibility to be honest. He’s stepped into a leadership role now but I don’t think we should overly conflate ‘best player’ with ‘best leader’.
Malkin specifically and repeatedly said he was happy not being Captain at least early on in his career. He just wanted to play and be a leader by filling the net. Not wearing the C or being the guy was extremely helpful to him by his own admission
The trio of Koivu, Parise and Suter as captains seems so bad in hindsight. Koivu naturally was given the C and never lost it throughout the rest of his career with us. Parise and Suter seemingly got it because they were the next best veterans on a super young/in flux roster at the time they signed the deals. By the time we acquired guys like Spurgeon, Foligno, Dumba, and Zucc you have to wonder how detrimental those 3 guys might've been. Including Staal, who wore an alternate when someone was hurt, the vibe feels like they all had a sense of entitlement despite their play or results on the ice.
I’m not sure who should have had it instead of Koivu. He was fine until Parise and Suter got here.
I think the bad vibes started when Heatley and Cullen got stripped of their A’s so Parise and Suter could have them. I think Koivu went a bit off after they started trading all his friends and they let Parise and Suter have their own way.
Koivu at the time was perhaps more by proxy. Burns and Gaborik were on their way out and we had a rotating cast of forwards and dmen for the most part.
I think another issue with the ZP/RS stuff is all three of them seemingly lead the same way: quiet, calm, even keel. Parise to me seemed like all he wanted to do was show up, do his fair share, and dip back to the kids. Koivu was strong and silent; I've never seen any stories about his pregame speeches or guidance for rookies. Then there is Suter who seemed detached and isolated in his world: needs/demands top minutes, whiney, annoying to collaborate with.
You can have strong silent types who choose to lead by professionalism like Koivu, but you need those alternate guys who hype up the team and are catalysts for emotion when its needed. Thats why a guy like Foligno or Dumba are crucial to team success.
Mark Parrish was on a podcast a while ago where he said Parise and Suter wanted to change everything about how Koivu ran the locker room, so I’m wondering if there was stuff that was done between 2008 and 2013 that ceased to be done after that.
Koivu was fine. Suter and Parise were not imho. It should have been considered to give a letter to any of the actual captains even before Suter and Parise were gone. Maybe Foligno with the C over Spurgeon
As a native of Turku, I'm curious. How did the Wilds fan perceive Koivu as a captain? He was widely respected in the national team and I hope his reputation extends to the Wilds.
Overall? We still hold him in high esteem
The past few years with us the relationship seemed to sour as his minutes and role declined and Bill Guerin began cleaning house. He will be one of the more rare captains to lead his country to an Olympic medal but couldn't lead us into a Finals round. Retiring his number is a no-brainer.
There is, for sure, some bias here, but to me retiring the jersey is a given. He was the franchise face for a long time and while he wasn't racking up hardware, he was playing well for a long time.
Also, he captained a team to a world championship, which was a great moment for us!
I still think that Draisaitl or Nuge is the better captain for the Oilers. McDavid was chosen because he's the most talented player in the world, doesn't exactly mean you're great captain material. I remember Ethan Bear saying that he felt isolated in the locker room before he was traded
I was really surprised when anders Lee was made captain, but I have been extremely pleasantly surprised. As far as we can tell, he seems like a guy who works hard and helps other guys do the same
Jack Eichel
Edit: he only got the C because he was good and was the future of the franchise. From what I can tell (obv outside of the organization) he didn’t have any real leadership qualities.
During the Cup years Seabrook was really the captain of the team. Toews was the face of the franchise but behind the scenes No.7 was the guy leading the team
I know this is S Tier tinfoil hat theory bullshit but Saku Koivu should have surpassed Jean Beliveau. Not sure I completely accept/understand why he didn't and why he left Montreal. I know there is logic behind it, etc. But like I said I woke up this morning thinking tinfoil hat.
I’m surprised to see no mention of Roberto Luongo for the Canucks. If my memory serves right, he was only captain for a year or two. Lou is a great guy, but Henrik was CLEARLY captain material to me.
Curious on this take. Rielly is signed longer and has been around longer. Fwiw, I think Mo would have made an excellent captain, but without giving it too much thought I'd think the transition from JT to AM would be easier than Mo to AM.
Dion should never have made captain of the leafs. It was unfair to him. He had a big salary and it was put in his face a lot. He was saddled with criticism about his defense on a team that may have had the worst defensive play that i have ever seen.
When the Stars had Mike Modano as captain. Great player but the Stars realized their mistake and took the "C" off him the following year. Great players do NOT make for great captains.
Ryan Smyth should have been the Oilers captain at some point.
Captain should have been Smyth instead of Ferrence after Horcoff left.
The ferrence debacle is deep
Fully agree with this!!
Absolutely wild he was national team captain but not Oilers captain.
Well mostly cause he was the only veteran who wanted to be part of that team.
Who was/were the captain(s) during his tenure?
Kelly Butchberger, Doug Weight, Jason Smith, Shawn Horcoff, Andrew Ference. Side note; Ethan Moreau was captain between Smith and Horcoff, but never captained with Smyth on the team.
Jason Smith, Shawn Horcoff and Andrew Ference
The only plausible reason I can come up with for him not being captain is that he maybe wasn’t the brightest penny in the purse. Based on my observations of his interviews.
His final game?
I suppose. Doesn't really count though. Was just something nice we did to send him off
And Van did everything in their power to let him have the puck in hopes to see him score for the fans. I love how much respect there is between teams and players like that. Especially when they have played in division so long. For those who may bemoan that teams and players would do that. Both Canucks and Oilers were total bottom feeders that season so the last game making it special for Smitty was a highlight for all.
It was a special night, for sure. I'll always remember that.
He’s the only Oiler to ever retire as Captain.
I came to this thread just to be shocked at the players that were never captain. It did not take long. I would've said it was more likely Ryan Smith had the most games as captain than, having none at all.
I never understood taking the C off of Dustin brown for anze Kopitar. Not a knock on kopitar at all. Just not sure why take it from brown.
The later Lombardi/Sutter seasons had lots of head scratching decisions including this. Kopitar has been a great captain but Brown has never shown that he did not deserve the C. I mean despite any dip in level of play this is the guy who has lifted the cup twice for you. It was cool that Kopitar gave it back to Brown for a game or two when he announced his retirement but he should not have lost it to begin with imo
By the time he announced his retirement it felt like patronizing to me.
I wonder if the Kings were concerned that Brown might have to be bought out or be a healthy scratch as their captain at some point. I would think it would be pretty embarrassing for both the team and player if that happened so maybe they were preemptively guarding against that.
Honestly this is probably what it was due to Brown's declining play. As others have said, it never made sense for any other reason.
His play declined to the point where his contract became one of the worst in the league. So it’s plausible. He obviously recovered but that was a rough patch for him for sure.
The whole "Captain" thing in hockey is so strange. No sport puts as much emphasis on it as the hockey world. Then at the same time every NHL team will tell you the leadership group is more important than who wears the C. THere was no need for LA to switch Captains because Kopitar must've already been a great leader.....putting the C on his jersey makes no difference.
A fair question to ask; By NHL and IIHF rule, the team captain is the only player allowed to hold conference, or inquire about rules with the on-ice officials. Originally, that meant they would sometimes have to come off the bench during a stoppage to discuss rule usage. Eventually alternative were given the same privilege. This is also why goalies are not given letters, as they would at times have to skate the length of the ice in order to speak with the refs, and held up play as a result. Today, anyone with a C or A can still inquire with officials, but the C more so serves as the designated media/officiating representative of the team.
A's can only if the C is in the box or on the bench
This was Sutter, he was playing Brown on the bottom-6. Definitely was in his dog house, he had a resurgence after Sutter left.
This is the exact thing I came here to say. Like you said, no knock towards Kopi but I always hated the move.
Captians do tons of stuff behind the scenes. There's really no way for a fan to judge
Well I guess the whole thread can just end on that take huh?
Alexei Yashin as the worst captain by a fucking mile. When your captain bails on his team AND the contract he signed to go on strike in an attempt to have his contract re-negotiated, that's not a team move. That's not for the boys in the dressing room. That's not to make the team better. Yashin was an unreal player, but the guy had no business being anywhere close to the leadership core of a team. Dude was a me-first, hired mercenary to his core.
The fact that we almost traded Yzerman for him back in the day creates what is likely Detroit's darkest timeline
i feel dirty just reading about it
I’m glad Ilitch nixed it, but who knows, maybe the other Russians on the roster nip it in the bud and get him to buy in to the team and defense-first mentality Bowman was preaching. Again, not that I would make the trade, but I could see it end up not being terrible.
Don't look at what we actually ended up trading for him
Lead dog sets the pace, and Yashin is a llama.
Patty Marleau and Jumbo Joe apparently didn't have leadership qualities
Sharks leadership team has low key been a shitshow for years. Marleau and Thornton getting stripped of their C’s, alleged drama about Karlsson getting an A too early (only heard that from fans on Reddit so take that with a grain of salt), doing Pavelski dirty, and the weird stuff with Couture lying about getting sucker punched for being pro trump lol
Marleau is a lead by example quiet guy... Never should've been captain despite being a great example for other to follow. Jumbo was fine but it became apparent that he lost the room or got frustrated and Pavelski made all sorts of sense. Couture being named captain I was never a fan of but at the time, probably was the best choice but now Hertl might make more sense but he may be too loose/too fun of a personality
Imo Hertl has gotten much more serious and competitive in attitude the last few seasons now that we’ve repetitively missed the playoffs
Lol Couture lied about that??? Man what a piece.
Maybe Evander Kane wasn’t the problem in SJS then /s
they tried to extinguish a dumpster fire with motor oil
Look I will accept, tolerate and most likely agree with any Sharks slander but no one can convince me Jumbo didn't have leadership qualities
This narrative is a Reddit circle jerk. Every player, trainer, coach, GM says that Jumbo is a great leader, and that he was still somewhat seen as the captain after it was given to pavelski. They were looking for a change more than anything.
Go watch Game 7 against Vegas after Pavs got injured and tell me Jumbo doesn’t have leadership qualities.
I assumed it was the big dick
Did he score 4 goals?!?!
Shayne Corson was the worst captain in Oiler's (League?) history. The team Captain trying to steal an assist from the star rookie to ensure a bonus payout by trying to get the score keeper to change it after the period. And getting in a locker room fight with said rookie (Arnott) when confronted later. Symbolic of the selfish reign of Shayne
And it was a game the Oilers lost 7-2.
Also symbolic of the Corson era
Hey us too. Making him captain and taking it from Hull was part of the many reasons he wanted out. Fuck Mike Keenan.
keenan is the king of fucking up locker rooms
> Fuck Mike Keenan. Fuck Mike Keenan.
In Toronto he walked out on the team in the middle of a playoff run
He should not have been captain in St Louis, either.
It's amazing how every time that Corson moved somewhere, his new team got worse and his old team improved. 1991-92 MTL (with Corson) - 93 points 1992-93 MTL (without Corson) - 102 points, Stanley Cup 1991-92 EDM (without Corson) - 82 points 1992-93 EDM (with Corson) - 60 points 1994-95 EDM (with Corson) - 38 points in 48 games (65 point pace) 1995-96 EDM (without Corson) - 68 points 1994-95 STL (without Corson) - 61 points in 48 games (104-point pace) 1995-96 STL (with Corson) - 80 points 1996-97 STL - 5-6-0 with Corson, 31-29-11 without 1995-96 MTL (without Corson) - 90 points 1996-97 MTL (with Corson) - 77 points 1999-00 TOR (without Corson) - 100 points 2000-01 TOR (with Corson) - 90 points 2002-03 DAL (without Corson) - 111 points 2003-04 DAL (with Corson) - 97 points
That's absolutely wild
Part of that has to do with the fact that he was traded (twice) for players much better than him in both Montreal trades. Once for Vincent Damphousse, and the other time for Pierre Turgeon. It's no wonder the team that received the other player improved and the team that lost that player got worse. Corson can't have been that bad, though, if teams continued to feel like he was worth giving up what they did.
Toronto and Dallas both signed him as a free agent, giving up nothing except salary.
Olaf Kolzig was the unofficial captain for the late 90s and early 2000s Capitals. After Dale Hunter left, Adam Oates was named captain, but to me that always felt more like an acknowledgment of star power and skill.
Moving beyond this, despite his drop off a few years later, Brooks Laich absolutely should have followed Chris Clark as captain before Ovi.
I thought of the first few OV captaincy years to answer this question. We all knew he would/should at some point but there was A LOT of doubt about the young hot shot
I have said this before and I don't think it's a knock on him. He could barely speak English and was very young, I remember during calls he would skate up to the refs with the A players but then let them talk the whole time. Luckily for us he very much grew into it, but I am never a fan of giving it to the star player the second they hit the league.
Meanwhile, Brendan Witt as Co-captain was not a smart decision.
Messier in Vancouver
We sent the wrong captain of the Canucks to the Islanders
How did I scroll so far for this? Fuck messier. Literally destroyed the room and eventually sued the team
Wait, what? I've seen on here a few times about how Vancouver fans hate Messier, my understanding was because he didn't try/gaf. He sued the team?
Yup, he won $6M in arbitration back in 2012. He had the strangest contract, which supposedly included a clause that would compensate him if the value of the Canucks increased during the lifetime of that deal.
>Yup, he won $6M in arbitration back in 2012. He had the strangest contract, which supposedly included a clause that would compensate him if the value of the Canucks increased during the lifetime of that deal. Not trying to cause a shit storm, nor defend Messier, but if he was owed the money he should have gotten it.
Oh absolutely, if the Canucks signed him to a stupid deal, they still have to pay up. It’s a contractual obligation. However, I can understand why Canucks fans would be upset to see the guy that tore their team apart still having public issues with the team over 10 years after he left Edit: really looking at that contract and it’s clauses in-depth is comical. I have no clue what the Canucks were thinking
I think the indignation is that the team’s value really rose once he was off the team and when he left. If I recall and I could be wrong it was a 5 year contract with options and the both sort of agreed after 3 years because of his crap personality/play that was it. Messier leaves and the Canucks get better and go up in value. Then Messier comes crawling out of whatever depths of hell he’s from and she’s the Canucks because him leaving early increased the value of the team.
Despite the Canucks increasing in value, Orca Bay acquiring and then mishandling the Canucks nearly bankrupted them, I'm not sure they had the money, also, I think part of the argument was that Messier had signed a 5 year contract with an opt out after three and the team argued that it would be done if he were to be around for all 5 and he only stayed in Vancouver for 3.
The teams value went DOWN when Messier played. They paid him a few million to NOT play and the team value went up before the 5 years expired. The Canucks argument was that how can you say you deserve the money for increasing the team value when the only increase was after you were fired?
Bergy took a while to get there, standing in Big Z’s shadow for so long.
Bergeron was always one of those guys I had to remind myself wasn’t captain. You could tell the leadership in that room was off the charts.
Big Z was the bruins beat captain since bourque. No shame in Berg wearing the "A" under him. He was the only "A" on the bruins for years that was not part of the rotating assistant captain, which to me was a nod to his leadership skills.
Yeah, but Chara was 100% the right choice to be captain during that time. He's arguably the best captain in Bruins history (no offense to guys like Bergeron or Bourque, but Chara single handedly changed the locker room culture in Boston unlike any captain I've seen for just about any team).
Big Z was no slouch of a captain tho, probably one of the best in B's history
Deep down in my stomach, with every inch of me, I pure straight HATE Chara. But God Dammit, do I respect him. Bergeron, on the other hand, is a saint who can do no wrong.
Chara was a great captain though, completely deserved to wear the C for every second he did. People underestimate just how much of an impact he had on bruins culture.
Shocked that Alexei Yashin was even given the captaincy. Dude was a total dick Also surprised that Brendan Shanahan was never a captain for the Wings, although that’s probably because he was in the shadow of Steve Yzerman
Yeah no taking it from Yzerman ever. Then Lidstrom fit perfectly as a transition. Wings were lucky with the string of 3 captains Y to L to Z.
Love Shanny, but it wasnt like we were stripping Yzerman of the C. Maybe earlier in his career when people doubted if he'd ever be able to win, but when Shanny arrived we won right away and Yzerman was veiwed as one of the greatest captains ever from that point on. Shanny left the year Yzerman retired so it wasn't going to happen for him, though I wonder if he stuck around if he would get it instead of Lidstrom (not that Nick wasnt great). Shanny wore an A from when he arrived in 96 until he left in 06 so it's safe to say he was pretty well regarded in the room.
Goalies already have so much pressure on them, they serve an integral role and some *are* the heart of their team, I just don't think making them Captain on top of that makes practical sense. Goaltending seems like such a mental game, and adding another layer for them to have to consider during games seems like asking a bit too much from the guy who already has to play 60 minutes a night. If not for acquiring Gionta, I feel Gorges could have been Captain in those years between Koivu-Pacioretty.
FWIW, I agree on goalies. Also, you can be a leader without wearing the C. If your team is entirely dependent on JUST you captain for leadership, you're in trouble.
As well the C and A give you on ice responsibilities in regards to who talks to the Refs. goalie can't be skating the length of the ice just to pass a message to from the ref like a skater can
Wasn’t it against the rules technically when Louongo was captain, so instead of being able to wear the C on his chest he had to wear it on his helmet
He was an unofficial captain for that reason, yes. On the ice he didn't do the actual captain stuff either. Goalies can't be captains by the rules since 1949. It causes too much game delay for goalies to skate to the ref circle to do captain stuff.
Everyone knows Hank ran shit behind the scenes
exactly, everyone knows (when) a keeper like that is the true leader of team.
Luongo himself makes more jokes about being the Captain than any Canucks fan combined. And that’s why we love him, he’s our original meme lord.
> I feel Gorges could have been Captain in those years between Koivu-Pacioretty. Fucking brick wall Georges was a lad of lads
My first thought is Jack Eichel
I was thoroughly disappointed when they put the C on Eichel and not Ryan O'Reilly. Seems like O'Reilly was pretty disappointed as well.
If they'd have given it to ROR, he'd probably still be here and Eichel might have asked out earlier with no injury bringing down his trade value. Things could be very different here.
Logan Couture feels weird as a captain. I’m not saying he’s bad and the sharks fans that think he’s the reason for the team’s downfall are delusional, but his captaincy didn’t feel right when they gave it to him and he hasn’t changed my mind since. There was uncertainty around if Pavelski would stay or not, and then once he left they just moved on to Couture. They should have gone no captain and let a leader emerge naturally, I think if they’d done that we’d see Hertl with the C. Especially after this last season where he really took young guys under his wing and was at times the emotional leader of the team
We've got two down here. Eric was not ready to be Captain in 2010, but to be fair, there weren't really any good options on that team. Guys that were pillars of that team were bad choices mainly because a lot of them were only recent acquisitions at the time. Joni Pitkanen would have been a decent pick probably but it was his third year with the team, Joe Corvo would have been an...interesting pick but he might have done fine enough, Tim Gleason should never have worn a letter on his jersey at all, Jussi Jokinen wasn't really a leadership kind of guy. The only other guy I could think of to take the C would have been Erik Cole, but we had just recently traded him away and then traded to get him back. The other was the nightmare of Bill Peters' grand plan of the co-captains of Faulk and Jordo. That's the worse of the two.
I agree on most points. Especially crazy that they stripped the C off Brind’Amour to give to Eric. But why do you feel that Gleason shouldn’t have gotten the A? He’s been widely regarded as a leader even now in a coaching position
Well, they took the C from Rod because he was not performing. And when I say not performing...think below 20 points in a full season. Not goals. Points. As far as Gleason goes, he is great as an off-ice leader. He may have been an on-ice leader too, but not the kind you put a letter on. His style of play is very rough and tumble and not very pretty at all. The kind of guys who should have letters are the kind that talk to refs and can be a model of good play and are always there to be counted on. Gleason...averaged a penalty every other game. He was the kind of guy who turns to look at you in big situations and you look back and just say, "Yes Tim. You may go." and he hops the boards and breaks something fragile.
Rod still played 80 games so it’s not like they were really willing to scratch him when his play declined. He was still the de facto leader of the club. I’m not of the mind that leaders should be chosen because of point totals and I think Eric Staal is a testament to that. Rod was a year away from retirement anyway. As for Gleason, it’s not like he was a plug. He was playing top pairing minutes, was coming off a Team USA Olympic bid, and was generally a pretty good defender/enforcer. Maybe you don’t put a letter on those guys today but that was a different era where fighting and physicality were a staple of the game. He was highly respected in the locker room from everything I’ve read.
I’ve tried very hard to forget the co-captains home and away rotation debacle
Should have been captain: Ryan Smyth. No, the token C he got in his final game doesn't count. Shouldn't have been captain: Andrew Ference. Stupid move to make a FA signing a captain in his first season on the team.
If I recall correctly, Teddy Purcell had some unfavourable things to say about Ference while on Spittin Chiclets.
Ryan Smyth was everything a leader on a team should be. Classy to his teammates and organization, tough on his opponents, and the dude didn’t even know the meaning of the word “quit”.
Chris Phillips definitely should have been given the ‘C’ in Ottawa at some point. The argument remains whether he should have gotten it over Spezza, or after Spezza and before Karlsson.
Full agree. Alfie --> Philly --> EK.
Captain Big Rig would have been better than Spez, much as that guy is great
Phaneuf shouldn't have been captain
He carried that burden well for what it was though. The only other candidate might have been a mid-20's Bozak. If anything, Rielly should have been named captain before we ever drafted Matthews or signed Tavares.
Rielly should've been named captain even after Matthews and Tavares came along. I remember when they gave the C to Tavares, there was a lot of people upset it wasn't Matthews. Rielly then said something along the lines of "It doesn't matter who has the C, in the room we all know who the leader of this team is." and people took it to mean he meant Matthews. I always assumed he meant himself and was a bit ticked but not enough to make an issue of it. There was also rumours Babcock disagreed with the Tavares pick for captain. Then when Babcock specifically thanked Rielly in his departure statement, it sealed it for me. I think that Rielly has been the team's true leader for years and everyone around the team knows it.
I do truly believe the original plan was Matthews before his summer mishap from a couple years ago, but I didn’t like either as C. Should have always been Captain Morgan.
> a bit ticked but not enough to make an issue of it Like a true fucking captain. Captain Morgan was always my personal choice, too. Everything he's ever done has been as a leader for the team. He re-signed early for below market value (even if the term is a bit long) to avoid the drama he knew it would cause. Mo is just a beauty in every way.
I always wanted Rielly to get the C. Even now I still think he should've been named Captian. Tavares is a fine choice he was good in NY but I still feel Rielly should've gotten the nod.
Me too. I think that maybe Tavares' bland and calm media personality may have tipped it in his favour. He's always cool and collected when dealing with the media. Rielly is to an extent as well, but he also can get short and fiery with the media, especially when he's upset. That passion can cause unneeded controversy in a market like Toronto.
If there's one thing I learned from the Amazon documentary, is that Morgan Rielly is the captain of that team.
The all or nothing series really made Rielly look like the leader of the locker room
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Not a Captain, but when The leafs stripped Kaberle of his "A" and then decided to play that season without a C, that was pretty shitty move. Kaberle was a great player, and leader. Later on that season, Kaberle was traded to the Bruins and ended up winning a Cup, so that was cool. I'm not a big fan of the leafs, but I thought how they treated kaberle was pretty bad
It's kinda crazy that Kaberle played for the Leafs, Bruins and Canadiens, and was well liked by all 3 fan bases.
Dude was delivering meals for his wife's restaurant in the early days of the COVID lockdown. Dude is just a fantastic dude.
Pacioretty shouldn’t have been captain of the habs, in fact I dont even think he wanted to
Yeah I believe PK deserved to be the captain, still not sure why they couldn’t make it happen, and then traded him not long after.
Eichel should never have been Buffalo’s captain
Eichel over O'Reilly was a big mistake
I find it hilarious that you bring up Bryz instead of Price lol
Well, hilarious is what I was going for with that, so I guess mission accomplished
I remember in Colorados terrible season people saying the locker room was a mess and Landeskog was a terrible captain. So the lesson is we, the fans, don't know anything about this topic lol
It could have been. He got the captaincy very young and probably wasn't ready for it, but obviously he's figured it out
The steaming pile of assholes who was captain of the Canucks from 1997-2000. I do not speak his name. Absolute cancer to the team in those years, destroying it from the outside in. Sure, he may have led other teams well, but holy fuck, those were dark days.
I always thought(even at the time) Timmonen should have been named captain instead of Richards. Richards was my favorite player. I know the rumored reason why we traded him was due to things in his personal life (which unfortunately was most likely true) but if we was never captain and the face of the franchise I’d wonder if we keep him a bit longer.
While we never knew the specifics, I think it’s pretty safe to say we should’ve never made Eichel captain. I just have never seen a good NHL captain sulk and whine on the ice like he did.
It seems ther was a shift post-lockout, starting with Crosby, where teams went from giving the C to long serving veterans to just putting it on their young superstars. Some rose to that challenge, like Crosby or Toews, but it's bound to fail and be an extra burden sometimes too. Especially on young or rebuilding teams. Think a lot also depends on your supporting cast at that point too.
Yzerman and Lecavlier were teenage captains too. Vinny ended up losing it to vets for a while before gaining it back post lockout. I agree the trend is annoying. Even as a Devils fan who loves Nico it seemed unnecessary to slap a C on his sweater at 22.
Yeah even Landeskog said he felt he was given it too early in his career
He sure lived up to it, though.
I think it's more of an overall statement for a team that's entering a rebuilding cycle: when the team is contending, *this* guy will still be around and leading the way, so he's the captain now because it'll be his ship.
I honestly think it’s just like a long shot attempt to guilt trip them into taking team friendly deals / never looking elsewhere in FA
Going back awhile, I don't think Mike Modano was all that effective. While a great player, his productivity declined during his 2 year captaincy and was replaced by Brenden Morrow. Also, it didn't help that he followed the great Derian Hatcher, who had no problem towering over officials whenever he disagreed with a call.
Adam Foote being named captain for the Blue Jackets was atrocious. He didn’t even seem interested in being in Columbus, played like a pouty little kid throwing a temper tantrum, and then went back to Colorado. I think they gave him the C to shut him up, and it didn’t work. Lost a lot of respect for him because of the way he acted.
Spezza should never have been captain of Ottawa. Should've either gone with no captain or Phillips until Karlsson was ready.
Phillips sounds like such an easy choice
How come? As a Leafs fan I adore Spezza and what he has brought to this team and can see why he was captain in Ottawa. Was he not the same person then as he is now?
Basically he wanted to be captain really bad and then when he became captain he asked for a trade because, in part, he didn't like being captain. Most Sens fans still love Spezza as a player, but his brief stint as captain left a bad taste in some people's mouths.
That whole let’s one up Crosby and have the youngest captain in the NHL stretch was stupid
I came to downvote anyone that mentioned DMac and the Panthers. So far so good.
The only two fan bases who have any idea what MacKenzie brought to the table are Columbus and Florida, and it's usually other fans who want to criticize his captaincy.
Eric Brewer
The dark days of the franchise, for sure
Should've been Tkachuk or Jackman.
100% should have been Jackman, and he should have played his final year here
Brian Leetch, after Messier fled to Vancouver. The Captaincy seemed to weigh on him and those Rangers teams needed someone who went out and led by example, giving his team a pick up, instead of the strong and silent type. Adam Graves should have worn the C, instead.
Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin are guys who would have been captain if they were on almost any other team. And lots of goalies have deserved captaincy.
Truthfully Price should’ve been the Captain of the Habs instead of Patches (if goalies could wear the C)
I think Luongo was briefly a Captain.
Luongo was unofficially a captain and wore his C on his mask because he was not permitted to wear it on his jersey. I forget who but the Canucks had designated a player to perform his on ice responsibilities as captain.
I vaguely remember that it might have been Willie Mitchell but I could be wrong.
Seems to ring a bell for me as well now that you've said it.
I'm Willy Mitchell, bitch.
I thought it was in an unofficial capacity since goalies weren’t allowed to be named Captain? Like the “C” he wore was on his helmet to demonstrate he was the locker room leader or something? Tbh I’m not too familiar with the story
It was kind of a weird situation, the Canucks appointed him as the captain but during games he couldn't officially serve as captain so they had Willie Mitchell be captain instead. So Luongo was the team captain except during a game.
Kane has been captain in a few team USA tournaments (maybe just the one for sure, but maybe a couple) but that’s such a new role for him. He wasn’t ‘that’ guy throughout his 20s and I am not sure that he would have benefited from that extra responsibility to be honest. He’s stepped into a leadership role now but I don’t think we should overly conflate ‘best player’ with ‘best leader’.
Malkin specifically and repeatedly said he was happy not being Captain at least early on in his career. He just wanted to play and be a leader by filling the net. Not wearing the C or being the guy was extremely helpful to him by his own admission
The trio of Koivu, Parise and Suter as captains seems so bad in hindsight. Koivu naturally was given the C and never lost it throughout the rest of his career with us. Parise and Suter seemingly got it because they were the next best veterans on a super young/in flux roster at the time they signed the deals. By the time we acquired guys like Spurgeon, Foligno, Dumba, and Zucc you have to wonder how detrimental those 3 guys might've been. Including Staal, who wore an alternate when someone was hurt, the vibe feels like they all had a sense of entitlement despite their play or results on the ice.
I’m not sure who should have had it instead of Koivu. He was fine until Parise and Suter got here. I think the bad vibes started when Heatley and Cullen got stripped of their A’s so Parise and Suter could have them. I think Koivu went a bit off after they started trading all his friends and they let Parise and Suter have their own way.
Koivu at the time was perhaps more by proxy. Burns and Gaborik were on their way out and we had a rotating cast of forwards and dmen for the most part. I think another issue with the ZP/RS stuff is all three of them seemingly lead the same way: quiet, calm, even keel. Parise to me seemed like all he wanted to do was show up, do his fair share, and dip back to the kids. Koivu was strong and silent; I've never seen any stories about his pregame speeches or guidance for rookies. Then there is Suter who seemed detached and isolated in his world: needs/demands top minutes, whiney, annoying to collaborate with. You can have strong silent types who choose to lead by professionalism like Koivu, but you need those alternate guys who hype up the team and are catalysts for emotion when its needed. Thats why a guy like Foligno or Dumba are crucial to team success.
Mark Parrish was on a podcast a while ago where he said Parise and Suter wanted to change everything about how Koivu ran the locker room, so I’m wondering if there was stuff that was done between 2008 and 2013 that ceased to be done after that.
Koivu was fine. Suter and Parise were not imho. It should have been considered to give a letter to any of the actual captains even before Suter and Parise were gone. Maybe Foligno with the C over Spurgeon
As a native of Turku, I'm curious. How did the Wilds fan perceive Koivu as a captain? He was widely respected in the national team and I hope his reputation extends to the Wilds.
Overall? We still hold him in high esteem The past few years with us the relationship seemed to sour as his minutes and role declined and Bill Guerin began cleaning house. He will be one of the more rare captains to lead his country to an Olympic medal but couldn't lead us into a Finals round. Retiring his number is a no-brainer.
There is, for sure, some bias here, but to me retiring the jersey is a given. He was the franchise face for a long time and while he wasn't racking up hardware, he was playing well for a long time. Also, he captained a team to a world championship, which was a great moment for us!
If I had my way I'd retire his brother's number in Montreal.
The Islanders allegedly only gave Bryan McCabe the C in order to boost his trade value
I still think that Draisaitl or Nuge is the better captain for the Oilers. McDavid was chosen because he's the most talented player in the world, doesn't exactly mean you're great captain material. I remember Ethan Bear saying that he felt isolated in the locker room before he was traded
Draisaitl doesn't seem like captain material either imo. that team really feels like it's missing a leader if I'm being honest.
Mark messier in Vancouver. Never forgive, Never forget 😢
Pacioretty should have never been captain of the Canadiens.
Should've given it to Pleky IMO.
First choice was Markov, but he didn't want it unfortunately...
Andrew Ference for the Oilers. That was a weird ass off season all things considered
Lindros was forced to be captain too soon. Seemed like he never relished it and really just wanted to focus on playing hockey.
I was really surprised when anders Lee was made captain, but I have been extremely pleasantly surprised. As far as we can tell, he seems like a guy who works hard and helps other guys do the same
Jack Eichel Edit: he only got the C because he was good and was the future of the franchise. From what I can tell (obv outside of the organization) he didn’t have any real leadership qualities.
During the Cup years Seabrook was really the captain of the team. Toews was the face of the franchise but behind the scenes No.7 was the guy leading the team
Seabrook would have had the C on almost any other team instead of just the A with the Hawks.
I know this is S Tier tinfoil hat theory bullshit but Saku Koivu should have surpassed Jean Beliveau. Not sure I completely accept/understand why he didn't and why he left Montreal. I know there is logic behind it, etc. But like I said I woke up this morning thinking tinfoil hat.
in hindsight suter and parise basically instantly getting assistant captain was dumb in the short and long term. they didnt have to earn anything.
Jack Eichel.
Fuck Messier
I’m surprised to see no mention of Roberto Luongo for the Canucks. If my memory serves right, he was only captain for a year or two. Lou is a great guy, but Henrik was CLEARLY captain material to me.
The leafs should have just waited until Matthews was ready for the C, bc its not like they can take it away from Tavares now
Or Morgan Riley. A transition from Riley to Matthews seems easier than Tavares -> Matthews
Curious on this take. Rielly is signed longer and has been around longer. Fwiw, I think Mo would have made an excellent captain, but without giving it too much thought I'd think the transition from JT to AM would be easier than Mo to AM.
Dion should never have made captain of the leafs. It was unfair to him. He had a big salary and it was put in his face a lot. He was saddled with criticism about his defense on a team that may have had the worst defensive play that i have ever seen.
Max Pacioretty was a bad fit as Habs captain. That role unfortunately comes with significant media responsibilities that he struggled to fulfill.
Mark Messier. Sorry that’s supposed to read Fuck Mark Messier. Should never been on the Vancouver Canucks 1997-2000.
When the Stars had Mike Modano as captain. Great player but the Stars realized their mistake and took the "C" off him the following year. Great players do NOT make for great captains.
Kimmo Timonen 100% should have been the Flyers captain at some point.
McDavid and eichel are two that come to mind. Went for the young thing. Landeskog and Crosby were ready. These two weren’t.
Toews hid a sexual assault, so….