Are there no leaders there? Eight NHL clubs without a captain
Dmitry Storozhev September 13, 2023, 1:15 PM Moscow time
The last player to wear the C patch in Calgary and Seattle was the same player.
Yesterday Winnipeg announced the name of its new captain. It was one of the team’s main veterans, Adam Lowry, who has already been with the Jets for nine seasons. Meanwhile, eight more NHL teams remain without a captain. Are there really no leaders there who can be entrusted with this role?
Anaheim
The Ducks’ last captain was Ryan Getzlaf, who wore the stripe for 12 seasons, a Ducks record. Anaheim’s current roster does not have personalities of his caliber. That is probably why the Californian club can start the second consecutive season without a player with the letter “C” on his chest. Leading captaincy candidates include Cam Fowler, Adam Henrik and Jakob Silverberg, who are serving as alternate captains.
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“Arizona”
The Coyotes traded their former captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Vancouver two years ago. The most obvious choice to replace him is the team’s leader and main star, Clayton Keller. The only problem is that he can leave Arizona almost at any time – there are enough teams in the league interested in him, and the American himself is unlikely to be eager to stay long in a franchise that is far from the most promising. . .
“Boston”
The Bears were orphaned this summer when Patrice Bergeron, who replaced Zdeno Chara as captain three years earlier, announced his retirement. It won’t be a surprise to anyone if Bergeron’s place is taken by linemate Brad Marchand, who is the club’s only permanent alternate captain.
Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron
Photo: Winslow Townson/AP/TASS
However, the Canadian himself is quite calm about this possibility: “I don’t think about it too much. Of course, I’m honored to be in the leadership group, especially considering the guys who were there before. We have always had a very united team and it is not so important who wears the stripes. The guys are doing great without them all season.”
“Calgary”
“Ogonki”, like “Arizona”, are preparing for the third season without a captain; After the departure of Mark Giordano, a worthy replacement was not found. She could have been one of the club’s veterans, but everyone sharpened their skis on the team: the same Mikael Backlund, who skated with the “A” stripe for five years, in a year will no longer be a Flames player.
“Chicago”
An entire era has ended in the Windy City: In the offseason, the final piece of the Blackhawks’ championship roster, longtime leader and youngest captain in franchise history Jonathan Toews, left the team. Chicago fans were sad, but, apparently, not much: the Hawks are delighted with the acquisition of Connor Bedard, who should become the face of Chicago for many years. There is already talk of his imminent captaincy; This is unlikely to happen next season, but in a year the young Canadian could well try on a sweater with a “C” patch.
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“Philadelphia”
The Pilots, after almost 10 seasons with Claude Giroux as team leader, also cannot yet decide on a new captain. The leading candidate might be named Sean Couturier, but he stopped playing even before Giroux left Pennsylvania for sunny Florida. The Flyers lack leaders; Philadelphia probably won’t have a captain next season either.
“Seattle”
In the history of the Kraken there was only one captain, who has already been talked about in this text: Mark Giordano was the main leader of the newcomers to the NHL in their debut season. After the transfer of the Canadian defender to Toronto, Seattle does not have a permanent captain, but it does have four alternatives. Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Jaden Schwartz and Adam Larsson: If Seattle decides to give the captain title to one of them, it will be a worthy choice in any case.
Yanni Gourde
Photo: David Zalubowski/AP/TASS
“Saint Louis”
The Bluesmen were recently left without a captain. As in the case of Seattle, its leader was Toronto: in February Ryan O’Reilly went there, who will begin the new season in Nashville. Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko serve as alternate captains in St. Louis; the latter, given that he spent his entire career with the Blues, seems preferable.
