Thanks to Ryan, Ryan (RLD HOCKEY) offers up who should fill some vacancies and I chime in as well.
As of today, there are five teams without a captain. Who should they designate as their new captain?
Anaheim Ducks
Previous captain: Scott Niedermayer
With the future Hall of Famer Niedermayer retiring last month, the ‘C’ will be donned by a different Duck this season. Saku Koivu could be an option and was a former captain in Montreal, but won’t be staying in Anaheim long-term. The name I keep coming back to is Ryan Getzlaf. ‘Getzy’ is one of the more talented forwards in the league, and is a big part of the Ducks’ future. I’d be surprised if the organization doesn’t go in that direction.
CW: I have to agree here Ryan Getzlaf is the easy choice for many reasons. The pressure of being Captain may create more urgency for the talented forward who had an oft-injured and off year last season. With a younger team now, Getzlaf is one guy I could see that would be able to inspire the troops.
Atlanta Thrashers
Previous captain: Ilya Kovalchuk
Kovalchuk’s departure in February (just months after receiving the captaincy) means there will be a new leader in Atlanta in the near future. If the Thrashers wanted to hand it to one of the young, up-and-coming players, Zach Bogosian may be the answer. But I don’t think they’ll go there. A veteran like Ron Hainsey – who wore the ‘A’ last year – could fit the bill. He’s a veteran presence on the blueline, and is under contract for three more seasons.
CW: Ryan took all my good choices. Well Atlanta does not have much in the experience department but Hainsey would be a nice choice. He may be a bit overpaid but at the very least he has been through more wars than most ATL players have seen.
Edmonton Oilers
Previous captain: Ethan Moreau
The direction the Oilers franchise is going, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them go through the year without a captain. Sheldon Souray and Shawn Horcoff could be veteran options; Ales Hemsky could be the answer if he stays healthy; Taylor Hall could eventually be the captain, but now is likely not the time. Edmonton doesn’t exactly have a great option at this moment.
CW: Ales Hemsky is really their only option for a “C” but he may get traded at the deadline if he does not bounce back from his shoulder injury. The reality is the Oil could go without a captain again but another year would probably be bad for morale.
Montreal Canadiens
Previous captain: Saku Koivu (2008/09)
After losing Koivu last summer, the Habs went all of last season without having a captain. What would have happened if they had won the Cup? Who would have taken the Cup from Bettman?! Anyways… there are a couple of great options for the Habs (namely Michael Cammalleri and Andrei Markov). I would hand the ‘C’ to Cammalleri, who showed solid leadership in the postseason. That said, they can’t go wrong with Markov, or even Brian Gionta.
CW: I will call this. Andrei Markov will be the next Captain of the Canadiens in a bit of an unprecendented move. The Price-Markov “feud” is mute now and Markov just became a citizen of O’ Canada. Though I like Gionta or even Cammalleri, I think Montreal follows the Boston lead and bestows the captaincy on Markov.
San Jose Sharks
Previous captain: Rob Blake
Similar to rival Anaheim, Blake’s retirement calls for a change in the captaincy. Not many Sharks fans approved of Blake as their captain, preferring Dan Boyle or Joe Pavelski. Pavelski has played really well in his few seasons in the league, and even Ryane Clowe has stepped up to the occasion for San Jose. However, Boyle has been the Sharks’ vocal leader through the good and bad times. I would make him the next captain in a heartbeat!
CW: Another easy one here as Dan Boyle was the leader last year to be honest. Rob Blake was kind of a paper captain at times. Give Boyle the C already.
One thing to watch is the captaincy situations in New Jersey and Calgary during the season. Do not be surprised to hear more trade rumors on these two.
The current captains:
Boston- Zdeno Chara
Buffalo- Craig Rivet
Calgary- Jarome Iginla
Carolina- Eric Staal
Chicago- Jonathan Toews
Colorado- Adam Foote
Columbus- Rick Nash
Dallas- Brendan Morrow
Detroit- Nicklas Lidstrom
Florida- Bryan McCabe
Los Angeles- Dustin Brown
Minnesota- Mikko Koivu
Nashville- Shea Weber
New Jersey- Jamie Langenbrunner
NY Islanders- Doug Weight
NY Rangers- Chris Drury
Ottawa- Daniel Alfredsson
Philadelphia- Mike Richards
Phoenix- Shane Doan
Pittsburgh- Sidney Crosby
St. Louis- Eric Brewer
Tampa Bay- Vincent Lecavalier
Toronto- Dion Phaneuf
Vancouver- Roberto Luongo
Washington- Alex Ovechkin
Photo credit: Getty Images
