Captain (ice hockey)

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Jarome Iginla wears the "C" on his jersey as captain of the Calgary Flames.

In ice hockey, each team has a designated captain, who wears a "C" on his or her jersey.

1 Responsibilities and importance
2 Alternate captains
3 Records
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 Footnotes

[edit] Responsibilities and importance

According to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and National Hockey League (NHL) rules, the only player allowed to speak with referees about rule interpretations is the captain, or, if the captain is not on the ice, an alternate captain.^[1]^[2] Goaltenders may not be designated as captains or alternate captains because of the logistical challenges of having the goaltender relay rules discussions between referees and coaches and then return to the crease. The last NHL goaltender who served as team captain prior to this rule coming into effect was Bill Durnan of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1947–48 NHL season.

Although the rules do not specify any other distinction between the captain and his teammates, in North American professional hockey the captain has numerous responsibilities to the team. The captain is expected to be a locker room leader and is often considered the primary representative of the team to the public. The captain also represents the players' concerns to management and sometimes is responsible for organizing the team's social functions.^{[citation needed]}

Captains are selected by team management; some teams hold a vote among the players to choose the team's captain. Captains are usually veteran players, though on occasion younger players are chosen. The selection is often seen as an important moment for a team, and one that can affect the team's (and newly appointed captain's) performance.

NHL teams need not designate the same player as captain from game to game, though most teams do. Some teams name two (such as the Buffalo Sabres during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NHL seasons) or three (such as the Vancouver Canucks during the 1990–91 NHL season) captains for a season. Some teams rotate captains rather than keep one for an extended period of time (the Minnesota Wild have never had a permanent captain, instead choosing to rotate captains every one or two months). During each NHL game, however, only one player can officially be designated as captain.^[2]

Traditionally, at the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL commissioner presents the Stanley Cup to the winning team's captain.

[edit] Alternate captains

Luc Robitaille, 2005: the "A" is commonly on the left side of the jersey

Teams may designate alternate captains, who are sometimes referred to erroneously as "assistant captains". Alternate captains wear the letter A on their jerseys in the same manner that team captains wear the C. In the NHL, teams may appoint two alternate captains if they have a captain, or they may appoint three alternate captains and no captain.^[3] In the CHL, teams are allowed to have a captain with up to three alternate captains. International rules stipulate that "each team shall appoint a Captain and no more than two Alternate Captains."^[1] When the captain is off the ice, any alternate captain on the ice is responsible for fulfilling the captain's official role as liaison to the referees.

Teams need not appoint the same players as alternate captains from game to game, though they generally do. NHL alternate captains perform many of the same leadership and team building roles as the captain.

[edit] Records

Steve Yzerman served as the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for twenty seasons (1986–87 season to 2005–06 season), the longest term in the history of the NHL.^[4] Charlie Gardiner was the first captain born in Europe to lead his team to a Stanley Cup title (1934, Lars-Erik Sjöberg was the first NHL captain born and trained in Europe, while Nicklas Lidström was the first captain born and trained in Europe to lead his team to a Stanley Cup title (2008).

The youngest permanent captain in NHL history is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who became captain on May 31, 2007 at 19 years, 244 days.^[5] During his tenure with the North Stars, Brian Bellows served as interim captain from January 1984 until May 1984, becoming (at 19 years and 4 months) the youngest captain ever in the NHL (a distinction often incorrectly attributed to Sidney Crosby, who was 19 years and 9 months old when named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and over 20 years old before playing his first game as captain).

[edit] Trivia

The Detroit Red Wings are the only team in the NHL to wear the captain 'C' and alternate captain 'A' on the right side of the jersey instead of the left. This is due to the Rbk EDGE jersey design, which would otherwise overlap the letter with the Wings' crest.

[edit] See also

Positions on the Hockey Rink
Forwards:		Left winger \| Centre \| Right winger
Defencemen:		Left defenceman \| Right defenceman
Goaltender:		Goaltender
Power forward \| Enforcer \| Captain \| Head coach \| Referee & linesman