Who will/should be captain?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I thought about adding a poll, but - meh. The discussion is more fun anyway.

 

Lots of talk about Suzuki getting the C. This is slightly surprising on a team that has Brendan Gallagher on it, but Gally’s injury-riddled season does seem to create an opening to say, ‘you need to focus on getting healthy, let’s give the C to the kid.’

 

Edmundson would be another super-obvious choice. Like Gally, he’d be a transitional captain to tide us over the rebuild rather than the face of the franchise for the next decade. Then again, injuries have made him unable to be much of a leader this year, despite his undoubted leadership qualities.

 

Part of me loves the idea of giving Slick Nick the C and letting him run with it. Symbolically, it would be a powerful turning-of-the-page from the Weber era, signalling that ‘it’s the kids’ team now.’ 

 

But the other part of me remembers what happened to Patches: every time he slumped, it became a psychodrama over whether he was a ‘real leader’ and whether he should have been given the C, and the pressure over that was arguably a contributing factor to his eventual departure. And he was further along in his career than Suzuki is when he became captain. On the other hand, Suzuki is a much more consistent player than MaxPac was, and also his game involves controlling the play in a way that wasn’t true of Patches. But still: even though giving Suzuki the C **feels** like the right play, I’m not sure it is a smart developmental move.

 

[DON]

MY guess, they will choose Suzuki and if teammates/mgmt do choose him, i am all for it.

Edmundson seems like best option "to me", but only 2 more years on contract, so maybe Savard partly because of contract & mostly because Romanov spoke so highly of him. 

[tomh009]

Edmundson will be 30 at the end of his contract, and, apart from this season, has not missed a lot of games due to injury. I could see Hugo extending him beyond that, if Edmundson doesn't ask for unreasonable term.

[GHT120]

I think the key is allowing the team to select the next captain ... they know who they respect and will follow ... don't see imposing a captain on the team as the right way.

[DON]

Who picked Pacioretty?

[Commandant]

I think it should be Suzuki.

 

I think Edmundson is the only other good candidate.

 

I dont think you can put it on Gallagher.  He cant be the C with the way hes struggling lately.  Hes got enough bad press and pressure with the contract and current struggles.

[tomh009]

Also, Gallagher gets no respect from the refs.

[GHT120]

59 minutes ago, DON said:

Who picked Pacioretty?

If I recall there was a "vote" but talk was afterwards that MB ignored it and choose Pacs.

[hab29RETIRED]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Who picked Pacioretty?

MT/MB

[hab29RETIRED]

2 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Edmundson will be 30 at the end of his contract, and, apart from this season, has not missed a lot of games due to injury. I could see Hugo extending him beyond that, if Edmundson doesn't ask for unreasonable term.

I don’t think he should be a candidate. I can see him being moved at the next deadline.   
 

We’re going to be a bottom 10 team. I think we try and pick up some. I wouldn’t want to pick someone who will probably be traded sooner, rather than later.

[hab29RETIRED]

3 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I thought about adding a poll, but - meh. The discussion is more fun anyway.

 

Lots of talk about Suzuki getting the C. This is slightly surprising on a team that has Brendan Gallagher on it, but Gally’s injury-riddled season does seem to create an opening to say, ‘you need to focus on getting healthy, let’s give the C to the kid.’

 

Edmundson would be another super-obvious choice. Like Gally, he’d be a transitional captain to tide us over the rebuild rather than the face of the franchise for the next decade. Then again, injuries have made him unable to be much of a leader this year, despite his undoubted leadership qualities.

 

Part of me loves the idea of giving Slick Nick the C and letting him run with it. Symbolically, it would be a powerful turning-of-the-page from the Weber era, signalling that ‘it’s the kids’ team now.’ 

 

But the other part of me remembers what happened to Patches: every time he slumped, it became a psychodrama over whether he was a ‘real leader’ and whether he should have been given the C, and the pressure over that was arguably a contributing factor to his eventual departure. And he was further along in his career than Suzuki is when he became captain. On the other hand, Suzuki is a much more consistent player than MaxPac was, and also his game involves controlling the play in a way that wasn’t true of Patches. But still: even though giving Suzuki the C **feels** like the right play, I’m not sure it is a smart developmental move.

 

Suzuki seems to be a much different personality than MaxPax. He also isn’t a just a goal scorer, who is going to be going through the usual scoring slumps. Suzuki is pretty much used in all situations. I also don’t think there are any other legit options.

[hab29RETIRED]

56 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I think it should be Suzuki.

 

I think Edmundson is the only other good candidate.

 

I dont think you can put it on Gallagher.  He cant be the C with the way hes struggling lately.  Hes got enough bad press and pressure with the contract and current struggles.

Yeah. A hard NO to Gallagher. I’m still hoping he is tradeable. I actually think he is one guy that would also benefit from a change.

[Neech]

Might as well give it to Suzuki as we won't be dumping him at the deadline in a year or two as we likely will Edmundson. Gally would also be a good option as he's already earning those extra captain's bucks, but maybe it's true that he sucks too much now vs his contract value to get the C. I also wouldn't care if we waited another year without a captain. Hey, we'll be crap anyways. Don't need to put a target on a specific player for the team's struggles.

[alfredoh2009]

Guhle when he is ready, Edmundson until that time

[tomh009]

2 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Guhle when he is ready, Edmundson until that time

Welcome back, Alfredo!

[alfredoh2009]

1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

Welcome back, Alfredo!

 

Thanks !

I had to wait for the season to be over, I could not bear it any longer

 

🚀 🚀 🚀  Go Rocket Go !!! 🚀 🚀 🚀

[dlbalr]

2 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Guhle when he is ready, Edmundson until that time

 

That's a creative idea.  It's a lot to put on his shoulders though considering he has never played in the NHL.  I'd be very surprised if they went that route unless they were convinced that Suzuki isn't ready yet.  In that case, Edmundson would make sense and Guhle could potentially play his way into the captaincy.  I think it'll be Suzuki though.

[alfredoh2009]

1 hour ago, dlbalr said:

 

That's a creative idea.  It's a lot to put on his shoulders though considering he has never played in the NHL.  I'd be very surprised if they went that route unless they were convinced that Suzuki isn't ready yet.  In that case, Edmundson would make sense and Guhle could potentially play his way into the captaincy.  I think it'll be Suzuki though.

 

Suzuki, tends to glide and was not strong on the back check under Martin St-Louis. I do no think he set an example this year, although his points and durability are commendable.

 

Out of the prospects, Guhle has been reported to be the strongest leader of the bunch.

[Commandant]

Suzuki's advanced stats (5v5)

 

45.9% corsi..... (-0.1% relative to his teammates, played the hardest competition on the team)

47.1% fenwick.... (+0.7% relative to his teammates)

44.5% xG.... (-0.06% relative to teammates)

 

Zone Starts (46.8% O-Zone, 53.2% D-Zone)

 

There is nothing there that suggests he is lazy in the defensive side of the game.  

 

Despite playing by far the toughest minutes, he is barely below the team averages here.  like 0.1% below in corsi and 0.06% below in xG.  Its so small that it is statistically insignificant. 

 

In his other two seasons, he was well above the team average (when Danault faced the toughest minutes).

By no means is Suzuki a defensive liabilty....  

[DON]

1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

 

Suzuki, tends to glide and was not strong on the back check under Martin St-Louis. I do no think he set an example this year, although his points and durability are commendable.

 

Out of the prospects, Guhle has been reported to be the strongest leader of the bunch.

But Guhle is a kid amateur hockey player, so why is he even in the discussion?

 

Also, how long ago did Suzuki hurt his back and then refused to take time off to heal?

And he didnt look like a floater, a la Hoffman.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

4 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Out of the prospects, Guhle has been reported to be the strongest leader of the bunch.

 

That's is true, there was a reason he was picked to be captain of the world junior team.  However before he could be considered captain of the Habs, he has to make the team, gain NHL experience and command the respect of his teammates.  I think we are looking 3-4 years before he might be a legitimate candidate. For now it's likely between Suzuki and Edmundson.  I just worry that giving it to Suzuki would be too much of a weight on his shoulders at a young age.  Maybe not.  I would give it to Edmundson but I am just guessing here as I am not in the dressing room.   Agree it shouldn't be Gallagher for the reasons already mentioned. 

[xXx..CK..xXx]

Someone mentioned that Gallagher does not get respect from the refs and while this may be true to an extent, from what I see Gallagher is the one talking to the refs in general.

 

I’ve never picked him before when this question has popped up but he would be my choice for captain. I don’t think your captain has to get the most points but in general, Gallagher’s effort level can still be followed by others. He also speaks like a leader and if you had Suzuki and Gallagher next to each other, I think I know which one would be asking the other for advice.

 

I am not opposed to Suzuki but my choice would be Gallagher.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I would not be surprised if Gallagher is traded this offseason. His injury history is scary and I’m not sure that he is a hugort type of player. 
 

Suzuki seems obvious and I’m not against it but I think Edmundson might be a better choice. Keep some heat off of Suzuki for couple of years (is it 3 years on Edmundson’s contract?

 

Suzuki would be a fine choice but he is already carrying a big load. Does he need the media and political crap that goes with captainhood in Montreal? A few more years of experience might be wise. 

[DON]

Edmundson 2 more years on contract.

[BCHabnut]

Edmundson 1. Suzuki 2. Anderson 3. My choices