August is finally here, marking the time of year when teams reconvene at their home rink and begin hardy planning for the upcoming season. That step will come with extra work for the six teams around the league who don’t currently have a captain.
Many of these teams, including Seattle, Anaheim, and Utah, have gone years without a captain – instead opting to disseminate responsibilities among multiple assistant captains. All three teams are amidst staunch rebuilds – with Utah even mapping out relocation – and are likely waiting for their top prospects to take a few more steps before earning the role. The trio of Matthew Beniers, Leo Carlsson, and Logan Cooley seem prime for that ascension with their respective teams, though they each have multiple challengers lining up behind them. The Buffalo Sabres are in a similar grouping, as they transition from a veteran-laden lineup to one of the league’s youngest rosters.
The Chicago Blackhawks also fall into the aforementioned discussion – not carrying a captain since legendary centerman Jonathan Toews ended his career in 2022. Toews leaves massive shoes as Chicago’s leader, after co-heading three Stanley Cup wins alongside winger Patrick Kane. Naming a successor will formally carry Chicago into a new era – one without many of the faces that came to define Chicago hockey in the 2010s. Teenage phenom Connor Bedard seems like a great option to lead that transition, after netting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games last season – the most of any rookie Blackhawk since Artemi Panarin in 2016, and Kane before him. But Bedard is still young and was limited to a partial season last year by a jaw injury. Those factors could hold him back from Chicago’s prestigious ’C’. If that is the case, it doesn’t seem any of the team’s veteran leaders, including Nick Foligno and Seth Jones, would inspire Chicago to name a captain too early.
And while Chicago’s next captain will lead the team through new scenery, it’s the Tampa Bay vacancy that headlines the off-season. The Lightning now sit without a captain for the first time since 2002, after franchise icon Steven Stamkos chose to sign with the Nashville Predators in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Stamkos wore the ’C’ for the last 10 years and established himself as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in that span, leading Tampa Bay to two Stanley Cups and setting the franchise’s all-time records in both goals and points scored. Like in Chicago, the Lightning will be entering a new era with their next captain – though they’re much more prepared for the vacancy than their counterparts. While forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point could both serve as strong replacements, it’s defenseman Victor Hedman that offers the same rugged veteran leadership brought by Stamkos. Hedman recently signed a four-year extension in Tampa, taking him through his age-37 season and, potentially, the end of his career. He’s already appeared in 1,052 games with Tampa Bay – the most of any Lightning other than Stamkos – and holds the franchise records in all three scoring stats, among defenders. Transitioning from Stamkos to Hedman should prove more of a light handoff than a total change in power, which could be enough to sway a Lightning franchise that hasn’t gone longer than one year without a captain since naming Paul Ysebaert as their inaugural ’C’.
Mapping out when captain announcements will come is often a fool’s bet, but the candidates to earn the NHL’s next ’C’ seem to be becoming clearer. Who will it be? Will Tampa jump to another veteran, will Chicago move into their next step, or will an oft-captain-less team commit to their young guard? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments.
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Hedman, followed by someone in Utah (Keller?).
Could have done a whole article on Keller’s claim to the Utah ‘C’… I’d love to see it! Name a confident leader for the Big West!
Thay are waiting for Doan.
Yeah. Youngish still and the face of the team (giving him credit for Yotes years here) for some years now. Cooley may be the heir apparent, but it feels a tad early and I’d imagine it’s another nice splash for Ryan Smith to make with his new team.
Why? Doan has no connection to Utah and his father isn’t with the organization anymore.
Should be interesting how this develops. Tourigny seems to have a tendency of not naming a captain. Last time a “C” was awarded under his tenure must have been sometime around 2010 in Rimouski lol.
I just don’t see Leo Carlsson being named captain anytime soon. I’m not sure he’s even an A this season. Honestly, Cam Fowler should be the Ducks captain for now. Then maybe you name Carlsson in a few years when he’s ready.
Hedman, Keller, Beniers likely in that order.
I’m not sure if it comes first, but Dahlin for the Sabres makes sense.
There’s really no one else worthy of the C in Buffalo. Dahlin is the slam dunk winner. Tuch rubbed me the wrong way with his comments towards fans booing & calling for Granato’s head & Tage can lead by putting the puck in the net.
As much as I agree that Dahlin in Buffalo makes the most sense, it’ll be Bedard in Chicago. He’s being held in the same light as Crosby was in Pittsburgh back in the day and McDavid in Edmonton.
As far as the kraken are concerned, seems to me naming Matty captain at this juncture wouldn’t be a prudent move, especially if he ends up signing a bridge deal for 4-5M (5 seems too much imho) as seems likely. Obviously you wanna believe in the guy, but also it could be nice to just run it back a bit and let him grow into the player he’s gonna become rather than putting the team on his shoulders now. He doesn’t seem like the type that that kind of push would help over the hopefully decades of a career. Would love to see the kraken name a captain though, if even just for two seasons. My #1 is still Larsson right now. If not him, maybe even Vince Dunn. He’s signed a while and he’s definitely one of the top performers on the roster. He also has a good competitive attitude, and even if he’s a little hot from time to time, he’s definitely lucid and intelligent. Eh!