Teams Currently Without Captains

The Nashville Predators are the latest team to join the ranks of the uncaptained, after Mike Fisher officially announced his retirement from the NHL this morning. They’ll now have to make a decision on whether or not to give one of their current players the “C”, or wait until a leader emerges at some point down the road. Perhaps one of their young stars will show enough this year to deserve it, if they don’t immediately give it to one of their stud defensemen. Much of the chatter among fans has been about Roman Josi or Ryan Ellis taking on the mantle, though nothing is clear just yet.

There are five other teams who have yet to name a captain for the upcoming season, and though some may go through the year with three alternates instead, there are several options to take up the leadership and stitch that curved letter to the front of their jersey.

Buffalo Sabres

Brian Gionta wore the “C” for the past three seasons, but it seems as though the team might go in a different direction this year. Gionta remains unsigned, and though a return is still a possibility it seems remote. Gionta himself gave some options for the next captain next year, listing Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo and Jack Eichel as obvious possibilities. O’Reilly does seem to be the most logical choice right now, after playing as an alternate last season and generally being regarded as one of the team’s best players. It will be hard to deny Eichel of it though, who was drafted as the face of the franchise and will likely one day lead the team.

An outside chance could be Josh Gorges for a season, as he finishes his current contract. The 32-year old defenseman has been part of the leadership group since coming over from the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, and could prove to be a nice buffer for another season before handing it over to Eichel.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes haven’t had a captain since Eric Staal was moved at the 2016 trade deadline to the New York Rangers, instead using Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk, Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask as their leadership group. There isn’t any indication on whether the Hurricanes will name a captain before the season, but any of those four could be successful options.

There is also the possibility of the newly extended Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin, both of whom are quite young but figure to be huge parts of the franchise for many years. It will be interesting to see who is picked to lead the young group, as the core is set to stay together for quite some time.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs have always held their captaincy as a sacred role, and after the ugly exit that was Dion Phaneuf’s departure may wait a little longer to embroider their next jersey. Auston Matthews is the obvious option, but it’s clear the team doesn’t want to put too much on his shoulders right away. Morgan Rielly has developed into a leader on the blueline, and is still young enough to grow with the rookies and help the Maple Leafs find glory once again.

Leo Komarov, Tyler Bozak and Matt Hunwick also wore letters last season, but the latter is already in Pittsburgh and the former two are free agents at the end of the year. It will likely be a whole new leadership group in 2018-19.

Arizona Coyotes

After parting ways with their long-time captain Shane Doan, the Coyotes have yet to announce the next captain of their team. Though it’s not official yet, many believe that role will go to Oliver Ekman-Larsson in part as an attempt to sway him to re-sign next summer. OEL has just two years left on his contract before becoming one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league, and is clearly Arizona’s best player.

This summer the team brought in a friend and former teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson to try and prove to Ekman-Larsson that they’re ready to take a step forward, and if he’s there long-term he would undoubtedly have a “C” sewn on.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights haven’t announced any of their captains as of yet, and it will be a very interesting decision when they do. Only three active players are signed for more than two years, and you would think the expansion franchise would want a stable leader to grow with the team for some time. That said, announcing a captain would be a big marketing play for an organization that is trying to connect with fans.

Deryk Engellend was brought in because of his ties to the Las Vegas community, but he’s only under contract for a single season and is already declining rapidly in effectiveness. Marc-Andre Fleury is likely the face of the franchise for now, but isn’t signed long-term and can’t officially have the “C” as a goaltender. Reilly Smith—one of the only players signed for more than two years—did captain his college team once upon a time, and could potentially grow into that role with his new club. They could also wait and hope Cody Glass or Nick Suzuki make an immediate impact in the NHL, and give the role to one of them in a few years.