Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno will be the team’s next captain, per a team press release. He’s the 35th in franchise history and the first since Jonathan Toews’ tenure in Chicago ended after the 2022-23 season.
Foligno is entering his second season with the Hawks after inking a two-year, $9MM extension last January to keep him off this summer’s free-agent market. The 36-year-old winger also served as captain of the Blue Jackets for the last six of his nine seasons in Columbus from 2015 to 2021. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson issued the following statement:
In a very short amount of time, Nick has quickly earned the respect of his teammates and our staff. Nick’s commanding presence in the locker room has been instrumental in helping the team find its identity. He has served as a mentor to many of our young players both on and off the ice while also heading up the leadership group comprised of our veteran players, and we are beyond confident that he will flourish in the role of captain as we usher in a new era of Blackhawks hockey.
The Buffalo native was already part of Chicago’s leadership group, serving as an alternate captain last season. Set to be a UFA last offseason after signing a two-year deal with the Bruins in 2021, Boston traded his signing rights to the Blackhawks in the Taylor Hall deal. Chicago promptly signed Foligno to a one-year, $4MM extension, preventing him from joining the 2023 UFA class.
While his frequent first-line duties on a paper-thin Blackhawks forward group last year punched above his weight as he enters the final few years of his NHL career, Foligno is still an extremely serviceable middle-six forward. He made 74 appearances for Chicago last season, his most since 2018-19, and recorded 37 points (17 G, 20 A) with a -29 rating while averaging 17:46 per game. It was his best showing offensively since his days in Columbus, finishing third on the team in scoring and leading them in hits with 192.
Foligno won’t be relied upon for nearly as many minutes this season with UFA signings Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen in the mix at wing. Hall playing a full-time role after a knee injury limited him to 10 appearances last year likely bumps the new captain down to comfortable third-line duties.
The move allows presumptive future captain Connor Bedard to take a more leisurely road to the position. The Blackhawks are no stranger to awarding the captaincy to budding stars – Toews wore the ’C’ on his chest from his second NHL season onward – but will take a different approach here. The 2023 first-overall pick will nonetheless remain Chicago’s centerpiece entering his sophomore year after his 22-goal, 61-point rookie season in 68 games, leading the Hawks in scoring and taking home the Calder Trophy.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
i dont understand it tbh, ig hes a placeholder for Bedard though, i would’ve thought they would name a Captain who’d be there longer than 2 more years
I seem to recall Foligno being somewhat grumpy that Boston wouldn’t give him some sort of acknowledged leadership role. I presumed when he voluntarily went to Chicago it was with the expectation that the “C” would be his for the asking.
This is definitely the right choice. Bedard is young and he needs to learn from a guy who has been a good captain before. There is definitely something to learning on the job but you also need a mentor for a very important position plus this is an Original Six team so there is a step up from the norm.
What’s to understand? If you’ve been watching the Hawks last year he was obviously the go to guy for Bedard and the other young players. Being the team captain for a hockey team isn’t like being elected to the Supreme Court. It’s basically a year to year thing what with injuries and trades and all the other thing that can happen. You don’t know that Bedard is going to be the captain any more than I do. Kane was a better player but Toews was a better leader. We don’t know which of the young players is going to prove to be the leader for the future. Sure we can hope Bedard grows into it but it could be that it turns into a year to year thing. Toews was the exception rather than the rule. Foligno is the right guy for the job for now. If Hall didn’t get hurt maybe it would have been him but that’s how things go.Next year it might be somebody else.
Well said. Exactly my same thoughts on this news
Actually I believe Vlasic could possibly be the man for the job. Not to mention he’s on the ice more than just about anybody else on the team. He could grow into it.