It’s none other than Milan Hejduk.
The Avalanche started the season going without a team captain waiting for the season to flesh out a bit and see how things went. Instead of going for a guy like Paul Stastny or aiming for youth with Matt Duchene, they’ve opted to go with the current longest-standing member of the organization in Hejduk.
Hejduk gets the “C” after Adam Foote wore it last season. Foote, of course, was a long time Avalanche defenseman who returned to Denver after spending time away in Columbus. Hejduk has only worn the “A” in the past but now takes the leadership role but Joe Sacco says that Hejduk is the guy that leads by example on and off the ice for the team.
Now if Hejduk has the skills to help the Avs prevent another early season meltdown that leads the Avs to the bottom of the NHL standings, he’ll be worth his merit. As it is, the Avalanche are giving up their first round pick in 2012 to the Capitals thanks to the Semyon Varlamov trade so failure is not be an option.
With the Avalanche naming a captain finally, that leaves the Florida Panthers as the only captainless team in the league. They should probably just name Jason Garrison’s slap shot the team captain there, that’s a force worth paying attention to.