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Who's going to be the next Leafs captain, and when?

H

Heroic Shrimp

Active member
I know it's not remotely an original question, and maybe it's just way too early to call after Phaneuf's departure.  It seems like there's a number of eventual candidates, but none particularly obvious for the next few years.  Rielly?  Komarov??  Stamkos or Matthews....??  I could actually see it being 2 or 3 years before the next captain is named, with the patience the team is showing in all regards.

Anything worth discussing here?
 
I believe it's way too early to discuss now.  Even if they won the lottery and drafted Matthews, I think the Leafs would wait before naming him captain.  The only slam-dunk captain I could see would be Stamkos if he signed here. Other than that, you're correct, might be a while before one is named.
 
In terms of guys on the roster now, Rielly is probably the leading candidate - mostly because the only guy on the roster who isn't a rookie and can be expected to be here for more than 2 more seasons. That being said, I don't expect the team to name a captain until they have a better idea of who the real core group is going to be, so, it's probably too early to really get into the nitty-gritty of this discussion.
 
With such a young team, it's probably going to be awhile before they name one.

In general though, I don't hold the captaincy to be this sacred thing that only the righteous can earn. I think there should be a captain every year.
 
I think we have to get into the middle of next season at the very least, and see what players are on the team before any sort of discussion can take place about the captaincy. It very well could be a player that's not even in the equation now that ends up wearing the 'C'.

Of course I think a lot of us are hoping to see Stammer anointed captain, and for him to don it for many, many successful years.

But right now, for all we know it could be someone like Matthew Tkachuk
 
If the team feels that it needs to have a captain next season it wouldn't shock me if it was Brooks Laich. The Devils had Bryce Salvador as their captain for 3 years so it wouldn't be the first time a team GM'd by Lou named a fringe-ish veteran their captain instead of going with 3 alternates.
 
CTB is right if they plan to keep Brooks, he seems by everything he is saying and doing to being a natural leader. If they draft Matthews do they take Stamkos?  If they take Stammer then he will be the C
 
Highlander said:
CTB is right if they plan to keep Brooks, he seems by everything he is saying and doing to being a natural leader. If they draft Matthews do they take Stamkos?  If they take Stammer then he will be the C
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If Stamkos is somehow avaliable and wants to sign in Toronto, I don't even care if they draft Matthews anymore... (and anyone from Matthews to Alex Nylander would be more than welcome).

and please, sign Stamkos, they do have the cap space.
 
bustaheims said:
In terms of guys on the roster now, Rielly is probably the leading candidate - mostly because the only guy on the roster who isn't a rookie and can be expected to be here for more than 2 more seasons. That being said, I don't expect the team to name a captain until they have a better idea of who the real core group is going to be, so, it's probably too early to really get into the nitty-gritty of this discussion.
Click to expand...

And, that really shouldn't be the (only) criteria in naming a captain - which underscores how early of a conversation it would be. My guess? They'll go without one for a while, and there's a good chance they aren't currently on the roster.
 
I think it'll be the next player they draft who has a calder-type rookie season(or a very, very good second season) and displays the sort of off-ice qualities they want to see. I really think that's the trend these days. 
 
CarltonTheBear said:
If the team feels that it needs to have a captain next season it wouldn't shock me if it was Brooks Laich. The Devils had Bryce Salvador as their captain for 3 years so it wouldn't be the first time a team GM'd by Lou named a fringe-ish veteran their captain instead of going with 3 alternates.
Click to expand...

Well, in terms of fulfilling the on-ice duties of a captain, a veteran like Laich isn't necessarily a bad choice. I'd be comfortable naming him as one of the alternates for next season.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
If the team feels that it needs to have a captain next season it wouldn't shock me if it was Brooks Laich. The Devils had Bryce Salvador as their captain for 3 years so it wouldn't be the first time a team GM'd by Lou named a fringe-ish veteran their captain instead of going with 3 alternates.
Click to expand...

I think though that it's the three seasons there that matters. I think the only reason you would ever really "need" a Captain is to maybe establish some sort of continuity and gravitas among the team's leadership and to that end it seems counter-productive to go with someone who, ideally, would only be on the team 3-4 months(and would almost certainly be gone in a year).

 
Perhaps they should take a player like Komorov, who has some value, make him captain, and see if value goes higher at the next trade deadline. Then shampoo, rinse, repeat for the next 2 seasons with different trade chips.
=???
=Profit!
 
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