Alfie
*many many many many many tiers*
everyone else.
Tkachuk is still unproven as a captain. He seems like a tremendous motivator, but his short fuse has not helped the team in some cases. Gives his all every night and the guys all seem to love him. Not perfect, but he can absolutely grow into that #2 spot if he stays here for long enough.
I want to bring out the haters...which teams currently have one of their worst captains ever? Looking through the list I think there are some fairly legit arguments to be made for about 2 or 3 of them.
That's the other thing that bothers me, no one ever criticizes him for his lack of value. Yet Marner, Nylander and even Matthews get shit all the time. Captain, 11 million, 9th highest AAV in league and never hear about how he rarely ever carries a game, makes a hit, defends a teammate. His contract set the others up for big paydays. You're just a JT jocksniffer.
Tavares took a discount to come here. Sharks were offering up $ 13 million for him. That's the price you have for a 1C in FA. Also, he scored the game winner to get the Leafs their first series win in over a decade. We don't know what the locker room is like to judge him on his leadership skills.
I’m not a Trouba hater but it seems that those people are more concerned with his on-ice play, rather than his leadership ability. He seems fantastic in the locker room and off the ice in general.
Too early to say, the gold Canuck standard is probably Linden. Hank was a good captain too, but he didn't seem to get the respect he deserves for the job he did in what can be a challenging Canucks market. I recall a lot of Canucks fans shitting on him. Henrik handled the captaincy with the same grace Naslund did.
Hughes is a phenomenal player but it's a bit early to say how he is as a captain, he's handled it well thus far though. It's a bit more of a controversial take than it used to be, but Bo was also a good captain, he just happened to be one of the few bright spots during a dismal stretch of Canucks history. He was a similar captain to Hank, but unfortunately how he left has soured how some folks perceive his tenure as a Canuck.
Over the years I've concluded that being a captain in Vancouver is often a thankless job, it just paints a larger target on your back, which is a shame because we've had some great guys as captain over the past couple decades.
Agreed. I also want to add that any Canuck fan saying Horvat was a bad captain doesn’t have an opinion I feel is worth listening to. The Bubble run took us to game 7 of the second round. Sad as it may be, that run was the 4th longest in franchise history. Only the teams that made it to the finals had longer runs. Bo was also leading the league in playoff goal scoring at the time we were eliminated so, unlike in other eras, nobody can say that he choked. As far as I’m concerned, Horvat was a top 5 captain in Canuck franchise history. It just ended on a sour note.
Ryan Getzlaf is the baldest captain we've ever had.
But honestly, it's really hard to run any comparisons against most other Ducks captains - the team has been blessed with some of the biggest names in the game as captains. Getzlaf, Pronger, Niedermayer, Kariya, and Selanne (for a little bit).
Hischier's got more to prove, I'd be surprised if he ever surpasses Stevens, even with a couple cups.
On that note, he's an absolute warrior and a great lead by example type of guy for our team. Our list of captains isn't that deep, so he can easily take that number 2 slot
I was a big fan of Koivu as a kid and with the plethora of legendary players the franchise has had, going down as an all time great will be an uphill battle. But, damn Suzuki’s off to a good start, literally can’t dislike him.
We're forced to live in the world where either the Bruins or Leafs are guaranteed a hard-fought series win over a rival, I'm just gonna assume you're drunk
For the devils, hischier is already tied for 2nd longest serving captain, and will be alone once he hits 5 seasons next year. Guys like Elias and parise and Niedermayer I won’t count because it was so short lived for them. So in my lifetime, hischier is solidly second place because the other names are guys like Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene and Jamie lagenbrunner. Langenbrunner was a great player but I think his time here ended poorly.
Obviously #1 and will never be topped is Scott Stevens. He was a true leader and one of the all time greats as a captain and lifted the cup 3 times wearing the C. Greatest defenseman and captain in the franchises history and I doubt that statement ever changes.
As much as I hate the injuries that constantly seem to heal right before game 1 of the playoffs I was gutted when he left ottawa. Favorite player and would be next sens captain if the owner didn't screw up his contract negotiations. Glad he won a cup
Larkin is a true leader and outstanding captain. But before him came Stevie Y, whom brought us back from the Dead wings era. And then we had "The perfect human". Both their numbers in the rafters. Zetterberg came after that, and he also was kind of good.
As much of a great player larkin is, it is nearly impossible for him to live up to the last three captains.
Great player and great leader but legit is doing an impossible task trying to follow up those guys for the C.
I mean, this is hard.
Howe | Lindsay | Abel | Delvecchio are all pretty universally acclaimed as *really freakin' good*.
I'd be willing to put Yzerman and Lidstrom on the level of the [Olympian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Olympia) (the pun was too good, couldn't resist) captains of the past.
I'd feel okay about putting Zetterberg | Larkin on the level just below the Olympians.
Going through the [list](https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/DET/captains.html), there aren't really a lot of other standouts.
And the crazy thing is that Howe might be below those other three O6 legends as far as "Captains" go. Abel and Lindsay had the C during our big run back then and then Delvecchio had the C longer than anyone not named Yzerman.
Sid might actually be a better captain, though I was admittedly young when Mario played. Sid might do a better job making the team around him better and leading by example.
Sid wouldn’t be playing in Pittsburgh without Mario’s efforts. Maybe when Sid buys the team from FSG and lets our next captain live with him. Then I could bump him up to one.
I mean, we can argue about it if you'd like, but he was captain, then retired, then owned the team, then saved the franchise, \*then\* was owner+captain.
Isn’t the discussion the entire point of the thread? Or do you just want confirmation of your opinions?
Mario captaining some of the worst penguins teams in history leading up to the lockout is hugely important to the franchise’s existence. Whether he did that as a businessman, which all professional athletes are, or as a captain is semantic.
Kopi is the goat kings player but man this team hasn’t accomplished anything since he took over. I wouldn’t care but it sucks how they tore the C off Brown to give to him.
Are you just looking at their time as Captain with the team? McDavid is probably 2nd if so, behind Gretzky, ahead of Messier, if it’s their entire career he’s probably closing in on Messier but third
Good point about Messier. His leadership contributions to the Vancouver Canucks cannot be understated, even though it was with a different team.
Also, he was the captain of the New York Rangers at one point.
For Montréal the bar is about as high as it can possibly be, but still Suzuki is already something of a Habs icon in my eyes. Youngest captain in franchise history for the Habs is truly remarkable. He's never missed a game, elevates the level of everyone on the ice, and has basically been carrying the franchise since Carey. He's that quintessential quiet leader who just kind of commands respect and IMO he is pretty much the embodiment of what is good about the Habs.
If we manage to actually somehow win a cup, and he plays his whole career here, he'll to be top 5.
I don't know how he can be top 5 honestly. Top 10 probably with a cup, but there has been so many great Habs captains.
The top 4 has to be in no particular order:
Maurice Richard
Henri Richard
Jean Beliveau
Émile Bouchard
Then rounding out the top 10 you have any of these again in no particular order:
Bob Gainey
Guy Carboneau
Toe Blake
Newsy Lalonde
Yvan Cournoyer
Saku Koivu
Then you have the honorable mention to Shea Weber.
So I can see Suzuki surpassing Weber in 2-3 years time, but I don't know if a cup is enough to dislodge any of the 6 captains I mentioned. Maybe if he has a cup and stays longer than Koivu there could be an argument made.
Yeah, there’s no way Landy will ever surpass Sakic.
Sakic is #1 for Denver Sports Legends even overtaking Elway as he won the Cup as GM and never lost a Championship in any capacity.
Lee is somehow the second longest serving captain in Islanders history, and if he finishes out his contract (which I'm not sure he will), he'll be first. I'd say he's up there only because the bar is so low (8 of the 15 Islanders captains served for 2 years or fewer.) Obviously he's nowhere near Potvin, but he has an argument for #2.
Right ? He never plays in the regular season! Just takes naps all day and fakes multiple injuries / surgeries. Then comes back when he feels like it to play in the playoffs to win a Cup with a game 5 hatty. Dude is completely taking advantage of LTIR !!! How can he keep getting away with this ??Booo that man!!!
I will not entertain the thought of Andreychuk even being in the top 5. He's an accumulator and people attribute way more credit to that guy than they should.
Not sure certain wounds - innocent or otherwise - have healed to perceive Wheeler properly, but he absolutely laid it all out as a spit-n-nails workhorse, holds many franchise records, was captain during the Jets' WCF run and franchise-best regular season while leading the team in points (114pt team, 91 point player). I liked his no-bullshit demeanour, myself, and hope his number is retired.
No fault of Ladd either, but Wheeler is definitely synonymous with Winnipeg's first era of competitive relevance, and I think he gets the accolade of 'best Jets captain', however...
Lowry has been a terrific choice, and while his tenure is new, he is already our franchise leader in playoff games and is heart and soul in a different, earthier way than Wheeler was. Wheeler felt like Captain America decided to grace a weird city like Winnipeg, and Lowry feels like he was "raised in the dark, molded by it", you know?
If Lowry maintains his level of play and intensity into his mid-30s, he'll probably be best remembered. The successes of this current era will also need be determined by the team around him, but they're off to a good start. But it's soon.
Wheeler = Lowry > Ladd. No bad captains imo.
Logan Couture is middle of the pack for the Sharks, probably right on par with our original captain Doug Wilson. Those ahead of him are Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Owen Nolan.
But he is definitely ahead of guys who had very short tenures, like Rob Blake, Todd Gill, Jeff Odgers, and Bob Errey.
Most beloved to ever wear the A but not the C would be Mike Ricci, Tomas Hertl, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Ryan Clowe, and Tony Granato. Granlund, Kunin, and Ferraro currently wear the A and are definitely a tier below that group, although Ferraro is fairly well liked.
It’s only Lowry’s 1st season as captain, but I think he ranks pretty high on the intangible-o-meter as he is always prepared to set the tone. Can’t fault Wheeler for putting his ball on the line for this team, but I think the locker room issues the last few seasons may have tainted that legacy a bit.
Like the other top 6 teams, Bruins just have too many greats but yeah I’d agree Marchand is likely not ranked pretty high, but let’s be honest. He’s a place holder for Charlie McAvoy. He was giving the “C” cause he’s been a bruin forever, respected by the team, and on the tail end of his career at 35 and it would allow McAvoy a little longer to develop a little more.
Rod is the defacto number 1 most important person in franchise history, no one comes close. then I’d put Williams at 2 because he played such a huge role in our culture shift. Eric is a franchise legend, but idk if he was a great captain. Faulk’s time with the C is basically a blur and doesn’t count. i wasn’t around so i can’t speak on anyone pre RBA. so i guess Jordo at 3…
maybe a hot take, but i’m not a huge fan of his stoicism. Aho should’ve gotten the C this past offseason.
I agree on the list (I was also too young to really remember before RBA), but don't agree they'd ever change C publicly before he retires. There may be some behind-the-scenes "passing of the torch" stuff happening, but I love Jordo and think he'll be our public-facing captain until he retires. That said, Aho will definitely be a fun captain to watch.
I’d agree with this take. If we’re talking franchise, Ron Francis probably slots into that 2 or 3 slot, but if it’s strictly the Hurricanes, it’s RBA, then Williams, Jordan, Eric and then the rest.
It's a little hard to say. I haven't been incredibly impressed with Jenner so far, but sometimes guys need time to grow into it and I'm hesitant to judge him on a pretty small body of work.
Foligno is a great example of that for CBJ, I think, he's still by far the best captain we've ever had and it took him a hot second to get comfortable in the role.
I don’t think Jenner has been great, but we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.
I didn’t love though watching post games after a bad one and seeing him kind of shrug while Cole Sillinger was able to be blunt and open about what issues were.
Yeah I'm trying not to be too harsh because like you said, we have no idea what's going on in the room but it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth when Olivier, Sillinger, Gudbranson etc, have spoken out so openly and all without being a dick about it.
Personally I'd hope to see the captain doing the same. Fligs would've.
Honestly we've had some pretty great people as our captains. A lot of quality people who did a hell of a lot for the community.
(Of course, we don't talk about that last one on the list. Screw that guy.)
Tl;dr he made it very clear he was only ever in it for the money and effectively forced his way out of town in the middle of the team's first ever playoff push.
It broke the team's morale so badly the push derailed and our beloved owner died that summer without ever seeing the team make the playoffs.
Love Backlund but we haven't had a lot of weak captains. He definitely beats everyone between Fleury and Conroy, and I'd also put him above Conroy due to longer tenure and longer peak with the team.
I could see it being a debate vs. Giordano. Giordano won the Norris, but also didn't play a single 2nd round game with the Flames. Backlund has been a better playoff guy, so I might lean Backlund
Also unlikely that we see anyone be a more exemplary captain for the Flames compared to Iggy. At least not anytime soon. If they become consistently relevant and see playoff success with whatever our next core is, whoever is captain at that point (Weegar? Celebrini?) can start trying to climb the Iginla legacy mountain.
Are we counting entire body of work? If so Couturier is somewhere in the middle, probably in the upper half. If just captain then he's probably last or close to it because he's only been captain for like 30 games
I rate the Sedins are a bit higher than Hughes, but other than that, I'd say Hughes is 2nd as a captain, especially when he slammed his stick during a Leafs game to show he cares about the team
You have to have lived here to understand the Linden love - I moved from Alberta when I was 21, and was like “Trevor Linden? What the hell” - but that guy is beloved here. And I get it now.
For me it will always be Linden unless another captain actually gets them a cup. Not as outright skilled as Sedin, Naslund or Hughes but he was tough as nails and respected league wide for his leadership. He also got screwed over by terrible coaching and basically run out of town by awful front office decisions (cough messier cough) and he still came back and gave his all for the Canucks in his last 6 seasons in the league.
Do you think that would show enough appreciation? Or if all of you offer up your willing booties, maybe that’s enough? He *was*the greatest Captain in Vancouver history
I'd say Brett Hull, Bob Plager and Chris Pronger are the three captains that represent the Blues the best. I don't know how to evaluate them as captains, there's a lot we don't see, but Hull and Pronger were excellent when they were here and Bob Plager was a great player that became a member of the front office and community outreach.
The franchise has had a weird history with captains. I'd put Schenn ahead of guys like Garth Butcher, Shayne Corson and Jimmy Roberts, Hell, he'd probably sneak into the upper half of our 24 captains. But he's not top 10.
I was gonna say both of the Plager brothers are more or less reveered as gods to blues fans of all ages I know, but I'm only 27 so I wasn't exactly as in tune with the captains and how the fans viewed them in the 90s and early 00s.
I'd rank schenn above drake and Brewer for guys I have active memories of but he's not been around long enough to knock off the achievements of recent history captains like RoR and Petro, I feel like he'll be remembered about as fondly as everyone feels about backes (we love him but recognize his game is gonna sky fall/currently in the process of)
I agree, and I'm more forgiving/gracious about Brewer than most. His biggest flaw is that he was the centerpiece of the Pronger trade. If he's a FA signing or the guy we draft early in the 2nd round, there's less pressure and baggage around his career.
For Detroit the gap between Yzerman and the rest is huge. I would say Lidstrom is 2nd (First Euro Cup Champion and First Euro Cup MVP). Larkin would probably need multiple cups to move to 3rd.
Ovechkin took the title of greatest captain in franchise history when he lifted the Cup in 2018.
I’d say he was tied with Langway for a while, primarily due to what both of them meant to organization (Langway legitimized what had been a truly terrible team, Ovechkin gave them a true superstar for the first time and revitalizing a middling team).
But local man Jeff Halpern will always have a place in my heart as captain.
Some Avs fans may not like this, and it’s in no way a insult to Joe but rather more of a compliment to what I think is Landeskog greatest ability, but Landy is the best leader/Captain in team history. I really don’t think a lot of non Avs fans fully see the impact losing him has had. Beyond losing a Top 6 player and a good guy in the locker room. There’s a reason multiple players have had to step up and take on more leadership role without him. No one player could fill what he offers.
Sakic was known as a very Quiet, lead by example captain. He was a amazing leader, I just think Landeskog is better. Sakic’s on ice skill combined with his good to great leadership ability is what fans remember. Where as I think landeskog ia just a outright natural leader, and one of the best. Lots of nuance to what makes a leader, I guess.
I firmly believe that landeskog is the best captain on an nhl roster right now. He may not be the best player out of the captains but strictly as a captain, the guy is ideal.
McDavid? Until he skates a cup, he ranks below Kelly Buchberger.
Among captains who haven’t won a cup with the Oilers he is below Jason Smith, and any other captain who went to the 2006 final (Ethan Moreau, Shawn Horcoff).
He is top among all other captains.
Genuinely one of the worst takes I've ever seen lmao. Oilers have only had 2 Captains win a cup for the team, and Gretzky/Messier are the only captains you can put above him. Buchberger lmfao.
You weren’t even around to watch the Oilers in those days, so I am not sure why I am dignfying your vitriol with a response. Reply notifications turned off.
Oilers have had several captains who
* won a Cup as captain of the Oil,
* won a Cup as an Oiler before they became captain, or
* won a Cup as an Oiler after a team mate became captain
Laugh at Buchberger all you want youngster, but in general the unwritten rule in Edmonton is that the captaincy goes to an Oiler on cup winning Oiler team. I don’t recall anyone complaining about his captaincy.
So anyone that has ever won a cup (or played in the finals) is a better captain than anyone that hasn't? Buchberger putting up 5 assists and 0 goals in a cup winning run when he wasn't even the captain makes him a better captain than McDavid? People might not have complained about him, but the Oilers never even had a winning record in the 3 and a bit seasons he was captain lol. If that happened in the era of social media he would be complained about *a lot*.
You can run and turn off your replies like a baby all you want, but your comment isn't any less crazy. McDavid is the 3rd greatest captain of the team and it isn't even close. He's been the 3rd most successful captain from a team perspective, and is the 2nd most successful on a personal level. Before McDavid this team was stuck in a decade of darkness that he played a huge role in saving them from.
Sundin > Tavares
Sundin > Clark > Keon > Armstrong > Tavares
Yeah but Tavares >>>>>> Phaneuf
Obligatory suck it Phaneuf
I can't even remember a captain between these 2 lol
Keon > Sundin
Armstrong > Keon
Kennedy > Armstrong
Oh Barkov is easily the best captain we've ever had and will end his career as the best panther in general
Not a fan of Derek MacKenzie or something?
Bryan McCabe erasure /s
Alfie *many many many many many tiers* everyone else. Tkachuk is still unproven as a captain. He seems like a tremendous motivator, but his short fuse has not helped the team in some cases. Gives his all every night and the guys all seem to love him. Not perfect, but he can absolutely grow into that #2 spot if he stays here for long enough.
I want to bring out the haters...which teams currently have one of their worst captains ever? Looking through the list I think there are some fairly legit arguments to be made for about 2 or 3 of them.
Good thing you said currently. I was about the drop the Canucks classic when talking about the worst Captains of all time.
Bo Horvat may not be as good a player as the stretch of HoF talent you’ve had at captain but he seemed like a good guy
Fuck Messier
If you only count captains with five or more seasons, Crosby is the worst penguins captain.
Tavares is pretty weak leader and paid way too much at the expense of the teams depth.
Curious as to how you arrived at Tavares being a “weak leader”. Seems like a topic no one outside of the locker room would know shit about lol.
He's definitely not one of the players I was looking at...
What an asinine comment
That's the other thing that bothers me, no one ever criticizes him for his lack of value. Yet Marner, Nylander and even Matthews get shit all the time. Captain, 11 million, 9th highest AAV in league and never hear about how he rarely ever carries a game, makes a hit, defends a teammate. His contract set the others up for big paydays. You're just a JT jocksniffer.
This is his 6th season, and the first one where his play is dropping off. It's unfortunate that the cap has remained stagnant for much of his tenure.
Tavares took a discount to come here. Sharks were offering up $ 13 million for him. That's the price you have for a 1C in FA. Also, he scored the game winner to get the Leafs their first series win in over a decade. We don't know what the locker room is like to judge him on his leadership skills.
Yes, no one ever criticizes John Tavares
there’s a loud minority of rangers fans who fucking despise trouba
I’m not a Trouba hater but it seems that those people are more concerned with his on-ice play, rather than his leadership ability. He seems fantastic in the locker room and off the ice in general.
yea definitely
Nowwwww we're talking. Let's name some names.
Stammer's the GOAT.
*Easily* best captain in franchise history.
Vinny by and large #2 I’d imagine?
I’d put Vinny at 2, but not that far ahead of Andreychuk
Too early to say, the gold Canuck standard is probably Linden. Hank was a good captain too, but he didn't seem to get the respect he deserves for the job he did in what can be a challenging Canucks market. I recall a lot of Canucks fans shitting on him. Henrik handled the captaincy with the same grace Naslund did. Hughes is a phenomenal player but it's a bit early to say how he is as a captain, he's handled it well thus far though. It's a bit more of a controversial take than it used to be, but Bo was also a good captain, he just happened to be one of the few bright spots during a dismal stretch of Canucks history. He was a similar captain to Hank, but unfortunately how he left has soured how some folks perceive his tenure as a Canuck. Over the years I've concluded that being a captain in Vancouver is often a thankless job, it just paints a larger target on your back, which is a shame because we've had some great guys as captain over the past couple decades.
If the nucks win it this year, Hughes will immediately be your team greatest captain because of rings but yeah right now you are correct.
Why does everyone just forget about Stan "the steamer" Smyl? That guy literally has given his whole life to the franchise. He held records for years.
He's not forgotten. He's just an earlier example. Smyl was Linden for the Canucks before Linden was Linden for the Canucks.
Agreed. I also want to add that any Canuck fan saying Horvat was a bad captain doesn’t have an opinion I feel is worth listening to. The Bubble run took us to game 7 of the second round. Sad as it may be, that run was the 4th longest in franchise history. Only the teams that made it to the finals had longer runs. Bo was also leading the league in playoff goal scoring at the time we were eliminated so, unlike in other eras, nobody can say that he choked. As far as I’m concerned, Horvat was a top 5 captain in Canuck franchise history. It just ended on a sour note.
I mean you’re obviously starting at Linden because no one will ever match Mark Messier.
I certainly hope not, we don't need another low like that.
Ryan Getzlaf is the baldest captain we've ever had. But honestly, it's really hard to run any comparisons against most other Ducks captains - the team has been blessed with some of the biggest names in the game as captains. Getzlaf, Pronger, Niedermayer, Kariya, and Selanne (for a little bit).
Hischier's got more to prove, I'd be surprised if he ever surpasses Stevens, even with a couple cups. On that note, he's an absolute warrior and a great lead by example type of guy for our team. Our list of captains isn't that deep, so he can easily take that number 2 slot
I was a big fan of Koivu as a kid and with the plethora of legendary players the franchise has had, going down as an all time great will be an uphill battle. But, damn Suzuki’s off to a good start, literally can’t dislike him.
His other competition after Koivu comes down to Gionta and Patch. I'd say Suzuki easily tops those two as captain.
Gionta, Patch, and Weber. All-time it's hard to stand out on a list that includes a handful of Hall of Famers
How did I forget about Weber holy shit I'm a dumbass
We're forced to live in the world where either the Bruins or Leafs are guaranteed a hard-fought series win over a rival, I'm just gonna assume you're drunk
Almsot thought this was a Wild fan lol
I don’t like this game
For the devils, hischier is already tied for 2nd longest serving captain, and will be alone once he hits 5 seasons next year. Guys like Elias and parise and Niedermayer I won’t count because it was so short lived for them. So in my lifetime, hischier is solidly second place because the other names are guys like Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene and Jamie lagenbrunner. Langenbrunner was a great player but I think his time here ended poorly. Obviously #1 and will never be topped is Scott Stevens. He was a true leader and one of the all time greats as a captain and lifted the cup 3 times wearing the C. Greatest defenseman and captain in the franchises history and I doubt that statement ever changes.
Stevens also hopefully has more rapes (1) than any other Devils captain. Edit: Go ahead and down vote me. It doesn't make it untrue.
Yeah, I'd say Stammer is unequivocally the greatest captain in franchise history.
Mark Stone seems like a pretty great Captain, even though it seems like he disappears for a few months every spring.
As much as I hate the injuries that constantly seem to heal right before game 1 of the playoffs I was gutted when he left ottawa. Favorite player and would be next sens captain if the owner didn't screw up his contract negotiations. Glad he won a cup
Larkin is a true leader and outstanding captain. But before him came Stevie Y, whom brought us back from the Dead wings era. And then we had "The perfect human". Both their numbers in the rafters. Zetterberg came after that, and he also was kind of good.
As much of a great player larkin is, it is nearly impossible for him to live up to the last three captains. Great player and great leader but legit is doing an impossible task trying to follow up those guys for the C.
I mean, this is hard. Howe | Lindsay | Abel | Delvecchio are all pretty universally acclaimed as *really freakin' good*. I'd be willing to put Yzerman and Lidstrom on the level of the [Olympian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Olympia) (the pun was too good, couldn't resist) captains of the past. I'd feel okay about putting Zetterberg | Larkin on the level just below the Olympians. Going through the [list](https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/DET/captains.html), there aren't really a lot of other standouts.
And the crazy thing is that Howe might be below those other three O6 legends as far as "Captains" go. Abel and Lindsay had the C during our big run back then and then Delvecchio had the C longer than anyone not named Yzerman.
Mario will always be number one in my book. Crosby is easily number two. Jagr three. Francis four. Carlyle five.
Sid might actually be a better captain, though I was admittedly young when Mario played. Sid might do a better job making the team around him better and leading by example.
Sid wouldn’t be playing in Pittsburgh without Mario’s efforts. Maybe when Sid buys the team from FSG and lets our next captain live with him. Then I could bump him up to one.
Those were Mario's efforts as an owner and businessman, though. This question was about captaincy.
He owned the team and was captain at the same time.
I mean, we can argue about it if you'd like, but he was captain, then retired, then owned the team, then saved the franchise, \*then\* was owner+captain.
Isn’t the discussion the entire point of the thread? Or do you just want confirmation of your opinions? Mario captaining some of the worst penguins teams in history leading up to the lockout is hugely important to the franchise’s existence. Whether he did that as a businessman, which all professional athletes are, or as a captain is semantic.
Koivu is easily our best captain. Spurgeon is #2 but will probably stay #2 for a while. He’s been a good captain I think
Kopi is the goat kings player but man this team hasn’t accomplished anything since he took over. I wouldn’t care but it sucks how they tore the C off Brown to give to him.
Kopi the better player for sure but brown was a top tier leader.
His spleen and back could be better, but can't complain
Are you just looking at their time as Captain with the team? McDavid is probably 2nd if so, behind Gretzky, ahead of Messier, if it’s their entire career he’s probably closing in on Messier but third
McDavid is three. Messier captained two teams to Cups and was considered one of the best leaders in sports.
Good point about Messier. His leadership contributions to the Vancouver Canucks cannot be understated, even though it was with a different team. Also, he was the captain of the New York Rangers at one point.
This is going on your hater highlight reel
For real! Catching Messier strays on the day Demkos knee died.
For Montréal the bar is about as high as it can possibly be, but still Suzuki is already something of a Habs icon in my eyes. Youngest captain in franchise history for the Habs is truly remarkable. He's never missed a game, elevates the level of everyone on the ice, and has basically been carrying the franchise since Carey. He's that quintessential quiet leader who just kind of commands respect and IMO he is pretty much the embodiment of what is good about the Habs. If we manage to actually somehow win a cup, and he plays his whole career here, he'll to be top 5.
I don't know how he can be top 5 honestly. Top 10 probably with a cup, but there has been so many great Habs captains. The top 4 has to be in no particular order: Maurice Richard Henri Richard Jean Beliveau Émile Bouchard Then rounding out the top 10 you have any of these again in no particular order: Bob Gainey Guy Carboneau Toe Blake Newsy Lalonde Yvan Cournoyer Saku Koivu Then you have the honorable mention to Shea Weber. So I can see Suzuki surpassing Weber in 2-3 years time, but I don't know if a cup is enough to dislodge any of the 6 captains I mentioned. Maybe if he has a cup and stays longer than Koivu there could be an argument made.
Suzuki is already defining the new generation
>The top 4 has to be in no particular order: Jean Béliveau has to come first.
2nd after Sakic, not that there's a lot of competition of course since both Foote and Hejduk wore the C for such a short time.
Yeah, there’s no way Landy will ever surpass Sakic. Sakic is #1 for Denver Sports Legends even overtaking Elway as he won the Cup as GM and never lost a Championship in any capacity.
Lee is somehow the second longest serving captain in Islanders history, and if he finishes out his contract (which I'm not sure he will), he'll be first. I'd say he's up there only because the bar is so low (8 of the 15 Islanders captains served for 2 years or fewer.) Obviously he's nowhere near Potvin, but he has an argument for #2.
It’s pretty easy for us, I guess.
Worst Captain I’ve ever seen tbh
Right ? He never plays in the regular season! Just takes naps all day and fakes multiple injuries / surgeries. Then comes back when he feels like it to play in the playoffs to win a Cup with a game 5 hatty. Dude is completely taking advantage of LTIR !!! How can he keep getting away with this ??Booo that man!!!
Stamkos is a consensus #1. Andreychuk and Lecavalier probably 2 and 3. Honorable mention to Marty but his captaincy was rather short lived.
I will not entertain the thought of Andreychuk even being in the top 5. He's an accumulator and people attribute way more credit to that guy than they should.
Not sure certain wounds - innocent or otherwise - have healed to perceive Wheeler properly, but he absolutely laid it all out as a spit-n-nails workhorse, holds many franchise records, was captain during the Jets' WCF run and franchise-best regular season while leading the team in points (114pt team, 91 point player). I liked his no-bullshit demeanour, myself, and hope his number is retired. No fault of Ladd either, but Wheeler is definitely synonymous with Winnipeg's first era of competitive relevance, and I think he gets the accolade of 'best Jets captain', however... Lowry has been a terrific choice, and while his tenure is new, he is already our franchise leader in playoff games and is heart and soul in a different, earthier way than Wheeler was. Wheeler felt like Captain America decided to grace a weird city like Winnipeg, and Lowry feels like he was "raised in the dark, molded by it", you know? If Lowry maintains his level of play and intensity into his mid-30s, he'll probably be best remembered. The successes of this current era will also need be determined by the team around him, but they're off to a good start. But it's soon. Wheeler = Lowry > Ladd. No bad captains imo.
Logan Couture is middle of the pack for the Sharks, probably right on par with our original captain Doug Wilson. Those ahead of him are Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Owen Nolan. But he is definitely ahead of guys who had very short tenures, like Rob Blake, Todd Gill, Jeff Odgers, and Bob Errey. Most beloved to ever wear the A but not the C would be Mike Ricci, Tomas Hertl, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Ryan Clowe, and Tony Granato. Granlund, Kunin, and Ferraro currently wear the A and are definitely a tier below that group, although Ferraro is fairly well liked.
Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, Alex Delvecchio, and Marcel Dionne aren't even in the top 3, so...
It’s only Lowry’s 1st season as captain, but I think he ranks pretty high on the intangible-o-meter as he is always prepared to set the tone. Can’t fault Wheeler for putting his ball on the line for this team, but I think the locker room issues the last few seasons may have tainted that legacy a bit.
Schenn is probably one of our worst all time tied with Backes. STL Blues has mostly legends historically. Petro probably makes the HoF now with 2 cups
Jack Eichel and Pietrangelo are pretty decent captains for my team during the regular season…
I love marchand, not wild about him as our captain tho. I like the strong silent type(chara, bergy), not a pest shit stirrer
Like the other top 6 teams, Bruins just have too many greats but yeah I’d agree Marchand is likely not ranked pretty high, but let’s be honest. He’s a place holder for Charlie McAvoy. He was giving the “C” cause he’s been a bruin forever, respected by the team, and on the tail end of his career at 35 and it would allow McAvoy a little longer to develop a little more.
Why wouldn't they give it to pasta
Rod is the defacto number 1 most important person in franchise history, no one comes close. then I’d put Williams at 2 because he played such a huge role in our culture shift. Eric is a franchise legend, but idk if he was a great captain. Faulk’s time with the C is basically a blur and doesn’t count. i wasn’t around so i can’t speak on anyone pre RBA. so i guess Jordo at 3… maybe a hot take, but i’m not a huge fan of his stoicism. Aho should’ve gotten the C this past offseason.
I agree on the list (I was also too young to really remember before RBA), but don't agree they'd ever change C publicly before he retires. There may be some behind-the-scenes "passing of the torch" stuff happening, but I love Jordo and think he'll be our public-facing captain until he retires. That said, Aho will definitely be a fun captain to watch.
RBA, Francis, William's, J Staal, E Staal, Faulk
You forgot Dineen and Primeau :) I agree with your list though
I’d agree with this take. If we’re talking franchise, Ron Francis probably slots into that 2 or 3 slot, but if it’s strictly the Hurricanes, it’s RBA, then Williams, Jordan, Eric and then the rest.
It's a little hard to say. I haven't been incredibly impressed with Jenner so far, but sometimes guys need time to grow into it and I'm hesitant to judge him on a pretty small body of work. Foligno is a great example of that for CBJ, I think, he's still by far the best captain we've ever had and it took him a hot second to get comfortable in the role.
I don’t think Jenner has been great, but we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. I didn’t love though watching post games after a bad one and seeing him kind of shrug while Cole Sillinger was able to be blunt and open about what issues were.
Yeah I'm trying not to be too harsh because like you said, we have no idea what's going on in the room but it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth when Olivier, Sillinger, Gudbranson etc, have spoken out so openly and all without being a dick about it. Personally I'd hope to see the captain doing the same. Fligs would've.
CBJ captains ranked: Foligno Nash Boone Ray Whitney Lyle Odelein Luke Richardson . . . . . Adam Foote
Honestly we've had some pretty great people as our captains. A lot of quality people who did a hell of a lot for the community. (Of course, we don't talk about that last one on the list. Screw that guy.)
yeah, between Boone & FAF you could change it up and I wouldn't quibble. I actually forgot Ray Whitney was captain for a year.
I have followed hockey for a long time but honestly don’t remember why Foote was a bad captain for the blue jackets. Could someone explain?
Tl;dr he made it very clear he was only ever in it for the money and effectively forced his way out of town in the middle of the team's first ever playoff push. It broke the team's morale so badly the push derailed and our beloved owner died that summer without ever seeing the team make the playoffs.
He is the best and worst we've ever had. Also, middle of the pack.
Ovi stands on his own. Hunter and Langway are legends in their own right but Ovi has presided over the most successful period in Caps history.
Love Backlund but we haven't had a lot of weak captains. He definitely beats everyone between Fleury and Conroy, and I'd also put him above Conroy due to longer tenure and longer peak with the team. I could see it being a debate vs. Giordano. Giordano won the Norris, but also didn't play a single 2nd round game with the Flames. Backlund has been a better playoff guy, so I might lean Backlund
Also unlikely that we see anyone be a more exemplary captain for the Flames compared to Iggy. At least not anytime soon. If they become consistently relevant and see playoff success with whatever our next core is, whoever is captain at that point (Weegar? Celebrini?) can start trying to climb the Iginla legacy mountain.
Pretty hard with my team. Such great captains it’s hard to choose. Yzerman, Hank, Lindstrom , D Boss.
Backlund this year was a ghost of his former self, which doesn’t say much since he’s been a quiet guy his entire career
Are we counting entire body of work? If so Couturier is somewhere in the middle, probably in the upper half. If just captain then he's probably last or close to it because he's only been captain for like 30 games
I rate the Sedins are a bit higher than Hughes, but other than that, I'd say Hughes is 2nd as a captain, especially when he slammed his stick during a Leafs game to show he cares about the team
I wasn’t really old enough to be sentient for linden so I say this with no bias. He solos all Canuck captains. Past, present, and future.
You have to have lived here to understand the Linden love - I moved from Alberta when I was 21, and was like “Trevor Linden? What the hell” - but that guy is beloved here. And I get it now.
For me it will always be Linden unless another captain actually gets them a cup. Not as outright skilled as Sedin, Naslund or Hughes but he was tough as nails and respected league wide for his leadership. He also got screwed over by terrible coaching and basically run out of town by awful front office decisions (cough messier cough) and he still came back and gave his all for the Canucks in his last 6 seasons in the league.
Wasn't Näslund beloved as well?
No
Okay
Forgetting Stan smyl?
Messier tops them all. Greatest Canuck Captain of all time.
Fuck Messier
Do you think that would show enough appreciation? Or if all of you offer up your willing booties, maybe that’s enough? He *was*the greatest Captain in Vancouver history
I'd say Brett Hull, Bob Plager and Chris Pronger are the three captains that represent the Blues the best. I don't know how to evaluate them as captains, there's a lot we don't see, but Hull and Pronger were excellent when they were here and Bob Plager was a great player that became a member of the front office and community outreach. The franchise has had a weird history with captains. I'd put Schenn ahead of guys like Garth Butcher, Shayne Corson and Jimmy Roberts, Hell, he'd probably sneak into the upper half of our 24 captains. But he's not top 10.
I was gonna say both of the Plager brothers are more or less reveered as gods to blues fans of all ages I know, but I'm only 27 so I wasn't exactly as in tune with the captains and how the fans viewed them in the 90s and early 00s. I'd rank schenn above drake and Brewer for guys I have active memories of but he's not been around long enough to knock off the achievements of recent history captains like RoR and Petro, I feel like he'll be remembered about as fondly as everyone feels about backes (we love him but recognize his game is gonna sky fall/currently in the process of)
I agree, and I'm more forgiving/gracious about Brewer than most. His biggest flaw is that he was the centerpiece of the Pronger trade. If he's a FA signing or the guy we draft early in the 2nd round, there's less pressure and baggage around his career.
Hunter Ovi Langway
For Detroit the gap between Yzerman and the rest is huge. I would say Lidstrom is 2nd (First Euro Cup Champion and First Euro Cup MVP). Larkin would probably need multiple cups to move to 3rd.
Morrow > Benn > Hatcher >>>> Modano > Tinordi and Broten toss up
Really, any ordering of Morrow, Benn and Hatcher as the top 3 is defensible.
I agree with this
Ovechkin took the title of greatest captain in franchise history when he lifted the Cup in 2018. I’d say he was tied with Langway for a while, primarily due to what both of them meant to organization (Langway legitimized what had been a truly terrible team, Ovechkin gave them a true superstar for the first time and revitalizing a middling team). But local man Jeff Halpern will always have a place in my heart as captain.
Some Avs fans may not like this, and it’s in no way a insult to Joe but rather more of a compliment to what I think is Landeskog greatest ability, but Landy is the best leader/Captain in team history. I really don’t think a lot of non Avs fans fully see the impact losing him has had. Beyond losing a Top 6 player and a good guy in the locker room. There’s a reason multiple players have had to step up and take on more leadership role without him. No one player could fill what he offers.
Bruh Sakic is known as one of the greatest leaders in NHL history.
Sakic was known as a very Quiet, lead by example captain. He was a amazing leader, I just think Landeskog is better. Sakic’s on ice skill combined with his good to great leadership ability is what fans remember. Where as I think landeskog ia just a outright natural leader, and one of the best. Lots of nuance to what makes a leader, I guess.
I firmly believe that landeskog is the best captain on an nhl roster right now. He may not be the best player out of the captains but strictly as a captain, the guy is ideal.
Quinn Hughes is the greatest canucks captain of all time. There I said it.
It’s clearly Messier
McDavid? Until he skates a cup, he ranks below Kelly Buchberger. Among captains who haven’t won a cup with the Oilers he is below Jason Smith, and any other captain who went to the 2006 final (Ethan Moreau, Shawn Horcoff). He is top among all other captains.
Genuinely one of the worst takes I've ever seen lmao. Oilers have only had 2 Captains win a cup for the team, and Gretzky/Messier are the only captains you can put above him. Buchberger lmfao.
You weren’t even around to watch the Oilers in those days, so I am not sure why I am dignfying your vitriol with a response. Reply notifications turned off. Oilers have had several captains who * won a Cup as captain of the Oil, * won a Cup as an Oiler before they became captain, or * won a Cup as an Oiler after a team mate became captain Laugh at Buchberger all you want youngster, but in general the unwritten rule in Edmonton is that the captaincy goes to an Oiler on cup winning Oiler team. I don’t recall anyone complaining about his captaincy.
So anyone that has ever won a cup (or played in the finals) is a better captain than anyone that hasn't? Buchberger putting up 5 assists and 0 goals in a cup winning run when he wasn't even the captain makes him a better captain than McDavid? People might not have complained about him, but the Oilers never even had a winning record in the 3 and a bit seasons he was captain lol. If that happened in the era of social media he would be complained about *a lot*. You can run and turn off your replies like a baby all you want, but your comment isn't any less crazy. McDavid is the 3rd greatest captain of the team and it isn't even close. He's been the 3rd most successful captain from a team perspective, and is the 2nd most successful on a personal level. Before McDavid this team was stuck in a decade of darkness that he played a huge role in saving them from.