Would it be Deryk Engelland, James Neal, Jason Garrison, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, or even someone else we haven’t really considered having the famous “C” stitched on to their first Golden Knights jersey? Well, it looks like the correct answer, at least to start the season, will be none of the above.
We’ll sit down with the coaches and decide what we want to do. We may be better off just having a leadership group than naming one guy captain. (You) really don’t want to put a C on a guy unless this is going to be a person that’s going to lead us for a long time. -George McPhee
As we discussed on the latest podcast, there’s really not a single player that stands out as the guy who would make sense to be the captain of the Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury would make the most sense but in the NHL, goalies cannot be designated captain. Next up would likely be Engelland, but he’s on the back-nine of his career and may struggle to even get on the ice consistently this year. Then there’s Neal, who has been an assistant in the past, but could be a trade candidate at the deadline in February.
So McPhee, Gallant, and Co may go down the three alternate captains road. It’s not unprecedented in the NHL. Last year neither the Hurricanes nor the Leafs named a captain, and there have been many vacant captaincies across the league over the past decade. There’s also the Minnesota Wild, who famously (or infamously) rotated captains each month for the first few years the franchise was in existence. Wouldn’t expect VGK to try that plan.
Instead, expect the Golden Knights to name multiple assistants as a part of their “leadership group.” There’s only one name almost guaranteed to be among that group, and that’s Engelland. The rest are about as fluid as those last defenseman spots.
McPhee said this is part of a press conference today at City National Arena. Here’s the whole presser.
RJ
Makes sense. Right now it seems like McPhee sees his roster more as a list of potential assets than a group of hockey players. I think a lot of fans would be displeased if someone was named Captian then was traded a month later for a 2020 3rd round pick.
Waiting until the roster has a little more stability would be the prudent choice for sure.
Phisig150
Do people really get that attached to a captain that they would get upset if he got traded??
RJ
I think so. Putting the C on somebody’s chest is a message that this player is more than just another player on the ice. The C isn’t just a letter on a jersey that means that they can talk to a ref. It is the Captian of the team, he is the leader of the franchise. That’s why it has to go to someone who is:
A- a leader on and off the ice
B-one of our top 5-8 players on the ice
C-someone who is going to be wth the team for a while
Losing a Captian through means other than retirement is a signal that the team is changing vision or direction. That’s why I think it is not worth naming a caption until this team actually HAS some vision or direction. Once we have the guy on the ice that will lead us to the playoffs in 2020 and to the Cup in 2023-then we should put the C on his chest.
James
@Phisig150
Do people really get that attached to a captain that they would get upset if he got traded??
RJ thinks we’re the Miami Marlins. The Miami Marlins keep trading their best players, always looking to “the future”.
McPhee should see his roster more as a list of potential assets than a group of hockey players.
The captaincy might even add trade value to a player. Bringing some leadership into a locker room is never a bad thing.
I agree that waiting until the roster has a little more stability would be the prudent choice for sure.
RJ
NOTE: I don’t want us to be the Marlins, but that appears to be the direction the team is going. Just because I think that’s what McPhee is doing doesn’t mean I approve.
James
There will be time when you would have to say ‘win now’… Now isn’t the time for trying to win now.
KevinH
It should be noted that the Knights can name Flower the Captain but he wouldn’t be allowed to perform any on-ice captaincy duties as it causes too much delay in the game. Two alternate captain would cover this role just like they would if the actual captain is on the bench.
The last goalie to have this role was Roberto Luongo from 2008-2010 as he was Vancouver’s unofficial Captain.