McKenna: Why Every NHL Team Needs A Captain

By Mike McKenna

Every NHL team needs a captain.

Leadership is so important in hockey. And it’s best done through a benevolent dictatorship.

In recent years I’ve heard the phrase “leadership by committee” far too often. A portion of the hockey world has convinced itself that a squadron of assistant captains is somehow equivalent to one player wearing the “C.”

It’s not.

I’ve had the pleasure of being teammates with some unbelievable leaders. Players like Jamie Langenbrunner, Shane Doan, and Jamie Benn. The moment I stepped foot in those locker rooms, I knew whose voice carried the most weight. All three had a presence about them. They cared about their teammates and spoke at the right time – with the proper message.

When things are going well for an NHL club, the team’s captain is largely on cruise control. Obstacles are navigated smoothly without incident. Team parties and outings are planned. Messages are relayed to the coaching staff and management.

But when things go sideways, one player needs to grab the reins and take control.

I remember one night when I was playing for the Arizona Coyotes. We were getting trounced by the Islanders in Nassau Coliseum and Shane Doan had seen enough. He stood up between periods, grabbed the logo on the front of his jersey and ripped our work ethic.

And then he cursed. Once. Shane Doan doesn’t curse. Every eye in the locker room was glued to him.

Doan didn’t single out any individuals. He didn’t speak down to his teammates. But he put everyone in that locker room on notice that if you don’t respect the NHL, it will bite you. Your career will be short lived.

Then he apologized for cursing. Which was hilarious. Everyone smiled. Doan never lost his humility, even in the tensest moments.

That’s how it should work. One player takes charge. But that’s not always the case.

There’s nothing more disheartening than sitting in an NHL locker room watching teammates cautiously looking around wondering who needs to speak. And that’s exactly what happens when a team doesn’t have a captain.

I played for an NHL club where two players essentially co-captained. Both were pending free agents. Player 1 felt it was his duty to speak. Player 2 spoke when necessary. The problem was, everyone knew that Player 2 was the right person for the captaincy. Yet Player 1 was oblivious.

It was awkward.

Player 1 would ramble and teammates would tune out. Then Player 2 would talk. By that point, people were either taping a stick or going to the cooler for a sports drink. The message was muddied. There was no clear leader and it hurt the team.

What made it so annoying was that it was avoidable. A pervasive mentality now exists that a team’s captain should be a star player. Someone on a long term contract. The face of the franchise. The owner’s choice.

Except that’s not necessarily who should be in charge.

People love to debate who should be a team’s captain. It’s a fun conversation, and admittedly, the public perception of a player does matter. Captains have to deal with the media on a daily basis. It helps to be a strong public speaker and come across as passionate.

But I can say this unequivocally: unless you’re in the locker room, you don’t know who should be the captain. I understand that’s hard for fans to hear. I really do. But I’ve seen too many quality captains lampooned on social media for “not caring” when reality is the opposite. The public doesn’t see it because it occurs behind closed doors.

And then there’s this: no NHL team has won a Stanley Cup without a captain since 1972.

Fifty. Years.

Five NHL teams began the season without a captain: Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.

The Coyotes and Sabres are both in complete rebuilds. Brady Tkachuk is the odds-on favorite to be the next captain in Ottawa. And the Flames just lost their captain, Mark Giordano, to Seattle in the Expansion Draft. So all four of these teams have a somewhat valid reason why the captaincy is open.

And then there’s the New York Rangers, who haven’t had a captain since 2017. They’ve missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs three of the past four seasons and only took part in the 2019-20 postseason because the format was expanded to include a qualifying round.

After coach Gerard Gallant declared in training camp there would be a captain, the Rangers pivoted and are starting the season with six alternate captains.

That’s a leadership group. A democracy. And it’s common for NHL locker rooms to have that many players involved in meetings with the coaching staff. But a captain is needed to guide the messaging.

I’m not saying having a captain is the magic bullet to playoff success. The Vegas Golden Knights were nearly champions in their inaugural season without one, and when Gallant pivoted this week, he reminded everyone that it worked out well for them. But that was unique. Every player was new to town and things needed to settle. It made sense to wait.

But they kept waiting. And in my opinion, the Golden Knights waited half a season too long to name Mark Stone captain. They needed a singular leader in the 2020-21 bubble. When play ratcheted up, Vegas looked confused. Exasperated. They lost to the underdog Dallas Stars — led by Benn.

An NHL team isn’t complete until they have a captain. And that’s why I admire the Seattle Kraken, who recently named Giordano the first in team history. The Kraken could have easily looked at Giordano’s pending UFA status and taken a pass. He might only be in Seattle for one season.

But GM Ron Francis, captain of three different franchises, and his staff know the value of leadership. Giordano has eight years of experience as an NHL captain. For an expansion team, that type of player is a luxury. It’s a building block to future success.

Hockey is constantly evolving and I love progressive ideas. 

But this isn’t one of them. 

Every NHL team needs a captain if they want to contend for the Stanley Cup.