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Crosby and Doan crack NHL.com’s greatest captains list

Mark Messier

Canada general manager Mark Messier responds to media questions after his team was eliminated by Russia in quarterfinals Thursday, May 20, 2010 at the ice hockey world championships in Cologne, Germany. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jacques Boissinot)

AP

Leadership isn’t something that’s measured in box scores, yet writers and fans exalt players who seem to lead by example.

NHL.com’s John Kreiser received an interesting assignment in that regard, as he tabbed the 10 greatest captains in the history of the sport.

Most probably saw the top choice coming like a famous guarantee:

1. Mark Messier

Of all the great leaders in NHL history, only one has an award named for him. That would be Messier, whose Mark Messier Leadership Award is presented each year to recognize a player who’s a superior leader on his team on and off the ice.

Steve Yzerman came in second place while two active players made the list.

Shane Doan rolled in and No. 10 while Sidney Crosby took the seventh spot. Phoenix’s ownership nightmare earned Doan bonus points:

The unsettled ownership situation hasn’t kept the Coyotes from making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past three seasons -- they made the Western Conference Finals last spring -- despite a shifting roster and the inability to keep big-ticket players. Doan, who assumed the captaincy in 2003, has become the face of the franchise off the ice while keeping his teammates focused on the task at hand on-ice.

Some might say the most memorable (or at least public) moment of Crosby’s captaincy came when he couldn’t play.

After a report circulated that a few Penguins allegedly wanted the “C” stripped from Crosby’s jersey, Pittsburgh players practiced with C’s on their sweaters as an added showing of solidarity.

Which players stand out as the greatest leaders in your mind?