Puck-based change (and all the naive optimism that comes with it) is in the air as training camp arrives this week for most NHL teams. Some will tell you that one of the biggest choices that many franchises face involves placing a “C” on the jersey of a deserving captain.
While the journey to find a new captain to replace Roberto Luongo in Vancouver has been well-publicized, the Montreal Canadiens still need an official leader since Saku Koivu departed. Playmaking center Scott Gomez thinks that it isn’t that big of a deal, but Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette disagrees.
Fisher also suggests a method of finding a new captain that reaches all the way back to the days of Jean Beliveau and “Boom Boom” Geoffrion: let the players vote for the captain.Head coach Jacques Martin says he will name a captain before the Canadiens open the regular season after discussions with other off-ice officials. Bad move. Coaches and/or general managers don’t select captains. Players do. It’s the players who know better than any coach which player they want as a leader on and off the ice. I can’t think of a single instance when Canadiens players were not asked to vote for their captain.
Or maybe they should just wait until the choice is obvious again ... as long as it’s not Carey Price.