Monday, September 20, 2010

Quick Hits: How would you rank the 30 NHL captains?

10:08 AM  Unknown  5 comments

I was recently given a national assignment by The Bleacher Report—which I will be posting tomorrow—to rank the 30 NHL captains, assuming that Brian Gionta is the new captain of the Habs.

Before I post my list tomorrow, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to see how you all rank the 30 captains.

It's not an easy task since all of the captains are leaders and beacons for their respective teams, but some of them clearly rise to the top.

So what is the criteria for ranking them, you might ask? The answer is everything.

By that I mean that it is the overall of each captain i.e. the leadership skills, work ethic, commitment to their community, etc.

The whole shabang.

So, given this all encompassing criteria, where would YOU rank the 30 NHL captains and why?

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5 comments:

You have a difficult task ahead of you Kamal! There's no way to make a list like this without drawing criticism.

Here's mine:

1. Sidney Crosby (Posterboy of the NHL)
2. Jarome Iginla (Let's face it, he IS the Calgary Flames)
3. Shane Doan (Last Winnipeg Jet on the Coyotes and the heart & soul of that team)
4. Alfredsson (Longest-serving captain in the NHL)
5. Niklas Lidstrom (One of the greatest defencemen of all-time serving as one of the oldest captains in the league for such a historic team)
6. Zdeno Chara (His involvement in the community and charity work is well-noted and leads by example on the ice)
7. Jonathan Toews (Just led a young team to the Stanley Cup with great poise and composure, picking up a playoff MVP along the way)
8. Jamie Langenbrunner (Two Stanley Cups and captain of the US Olympic Team, 'nuff said)
9. Doug Weight (Stable veteran leader on a young rebuilding team)
10. Eric Staal (There are very few players if any on the Carolina Hurricanes that are as important to the franchise as Staal. He's a Stanley Cup winner no less.)
11. Mike Richards (With guys like Pronger, Laperriere, and Hartnell - the Flyers have plenty of leadership on and off the ice. Richards is still the undisputed leader of the team and showed what he could do by leading the team to the Finals last season)
12. Adam Foote (An original Avalanche - won an Olympic gold medal and two Stanley Cups. He's a key player on an up-and-coming team like Colorado)
13. Brenden Morrow (They asked the great Mike Modano to step down for Morrow to take over the captaincy. He is, without a doubt, the pillar on which the Dallas Stars stand now that Modano is gone)
14. Dustin Brown (Like Toews, he's a young captain on a young team. The Kings are poised to break out in the Western Conference)
15. Eric Brewer (At 31, he's no geezer, but he's still a veteran captain on a team full of young potential in St. Louis)
16. Shea Weber (Already one of the best d-men in the NHL, he and Steve Sullivan are the core of a hard-working team)
17. Chris Drury (Should probably be higher on this list, but don't know who to drop. It's tough being a captain in New York after Messier and Leetch. Nonetheless, Drury is a staple in American hockey history and is a great leader for the Rangers)
18. Craig Rivet (He's been a great locker room presence wherever he's been, and has been a respected leader on each team. In Buffalo, he leads on and off the ice and brings to the table every quality you could want in a captain)
19. Alexander Ovechkin (He's one of the best players in the world and makes Washington a contender every year. He has yet to carry the team to any kind of real playoff success, but it's hard to bet against Ovechkin)
20. Vincent Lecavalier (At the time that he was named, he was the youngest captain in the history of the NHL. While he has drawn some criticism recently, Lecavalier has made a home for himself in Florida and is a big part of the community - dedicating time and money to serving the city)
21. Rick Nash (One of the most talented players on this list but until he can lift the Jackets to the next level, he falls down)
22. Bryan McCabe (Like Rivet, McCabe is a natural leader and does everything right on and off the ice.)
23. Mikko Koivu (Rewarding with a new big contract in Minnesota, the younger Koivu has come to represent the Wild's playing style. He also has older brother Saku to look to as an inspiration for how to be an NHL captain.)

I think this question is next tio impossible to answer. What makes a good captain?

Is it someone who can score. Someone who is good off the ice? Is it a guy who leads? If it's a guy who leads then what is the basis for this subjective opinion?

I remember distinctly that Steve Yzerman was continuosuly questioned for his leadership abilities.

He was being shopped around the league, was continuously cut from Team Canada and was headed to Ottawa for Yashin.

All of a sudden the team acquires Shanahan and the Yzerman is considered one of the greatest captains this game has ever known.

A captain is only as good as the team which surrounds him IMO.

because of this Lidstrom is the best captain in the league. His team has been cup contenders since 1995 and he is one of the most respected players in the game.

Hey guys and thanks for your feedback!

Haaris: Wow, good stuff man. That is an awesome list that you put together and it is interesting to see the minute differences between your list and mine (which I will post tomorrow).

But ultimately, you and Willey are both right in that this is one heck of a difficult list to put together.

There is no real tangible criteria to use. You can't you points because some of them are D-men, and things like leadership are hard to measure.

I just went with my gut for my list, and put the names in the order based on my impressions of them.

It will be interesting to read the feedback once I post the list tomorrow.

No worries KP.

To me the best captain is a guy who can bring together and entire dressing room, and entire coaching staff and city.

You need a guy who is respected and respectful. You need a guy who is not afraid to get in people's faces when needed or to sit back and be able to listen.

You need a guy who can put veterans in line and yet take rookies under his wing.

You need a guy who can still play at an elite level on the ice, and who can still produce on the score sheet.

When you think of what is needed I think the list of best captains in the NHL is an extremely short list.

Lidstrom to me is by far at the top of
this list.

After Lidstrom there is an enormous drop off with 2nd tier guys like Crosby, Toews, Richards, Morrow, Iginla

The rest of the league is far behind these guys.

Well said, Willey!

And, I agree re: Lidstrom too. He seems to be in a class all of his own.

Either way, though, I think it takes a little something special to be chosen as a captain, either by management or your peers.

It means that they ultimately look up to you and/or see you exemplifying the traits that they want to espouse.

That is what ultimately makes it difficult to rank them, imo.

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