Not since the late 1940’s has there been a goalie who has captained, co-captained, or even wore an “A” on his sweater yet it may be time to revisit good ole Rule 14d (The Bill Durnan rule) that states this because of one man, Martin Brodeur.
What is rule 14d….you may ask? Simply it is just a rule that states no goalie can be captain, co-captain, or assistant captain in the NHL. The rule has just lingered for years and really has been overlooked. Only in the last decade or so…first with Roy and now with Brodeur has the little known issue been revisited. There is some growing sentiment among GM’s that maybe the rule can be amended in some way allowing a goalie to be a captain but nothing constructive has come out of it just yet. It is something just done in secret, sorta like “Men In Black”. The Board of Governors don’t even acknowledge it; sorta halfheartedly scoffing at the idea that a goalie even be considered a captain in much the way Bettman has avoided the instigator rule issue.
The most ironic weigh-in in all of this is from none other than Ken Dryden, who many feel would make an ideal commissioner. He is currently serving in a fairly high-ranking position in the Canadian Parliament and wrote one of the best hockey books I have read…”The Game”. He has felt if the goalie best represents the leadership on your team and exudes that on the ice, why not name him captain. The goalie is in a lot of ways similar to the quarterback in the nfl in that most are the leaders on and off the ice. The Conn Smythe more often that not, like the Super Bowl MVP, goes to the best goalie.
Even the current captain of the New Jersey Devils agrees. Patrik Elias was named the captain this season after the Devils went without a captain in the 2005-2006 season. Reports from the NY Post and Bergen Record suggested that at one point Lamoriello and Elias went to Bettman to see about naming Marty captain but he was told that the issue is being looked into but nothing has come of it. Elias basically has said that Brodeur runs the locker room, leads everything on and off the ice and well he just coordinates with him. So in theory, Elias is just the “A” with a “C” on his sweater.
So if one team is pushing it why aren’t others? Rule 14d has just gone on throughout the years as has an almost unwritten attachment to it….basically to the point of why question tradition. The problem is tradition dictates that goalies were captain back in the early days of the NHL. Maybe once the NHL realizes that, hockey fans will see a goalie as a captain…and the possibility for Devil fans to say the captain of the Devils is Martin Brodeur and not just the “unofficial” one.
