Was wondering who you guys think the next captain is goin to be??
I would like to see Knuble get given the C......from what ive read he seems to be a positive voice in the change room and one of the goto guys the media go to....but not only that on ice he leads by example...and his qucik comeback after having his cheek and eye socket broken showed the commitment to the team that was lacking for a lot of last season
I might b way off but id like to hear wat u guys think
this is simon gagne's team now. he showed he has what it takes after the forsgerg trade. i wouldn't be heart broken if it went to knuble but i truly believe it's simon's time to step up
Late in the season, after Forsberg was traded he mentioed it a fwe times in interviews as the season was coming to a close.
Well then when someone needs to speak up and needs to smack someone around he better be willing to do it, because we don't need a lame duck "lead by example" captain who is "quiet in the locker room" because based on the recent history of the team, those kind of captains don't work out too well.
Aside from scoring more goals than anyone else on the team, there is no reason Gagne should be captain. Scoring the most goals isn't even a good reason. Knuble would be a good choice. I think you need someone with energy, plays with a sense of urgency, and likes to speak out in the room. Richards might not be a bad choice now, but may be a little too early.
Well then when someone needs to speak up and needs to smack someone around he better be willing to do it, because we don't need a lame duck "lead by example" captain who is "quiet in the locker room" because based on the recent history of the team, those kind of captains don't work out too well.
teams with 300 man games lost rarely work out too well... not sure it has as much to do with the captain as people think. it was a young team with a lot of injuries, including the captain/best player. SHOCKINGLY they struggled.
Joe Sakic and Stevie Y are two very good examples of quiet, lead by example captains who've enjoyed great success in recent memory.
it really looked like Gagne was headed towards being captain at the end of the year, but i'm sure they will think about that in the summer without all the other stuff going on around the team before they make a decision about what they want to do.
regardless of what happens, i wouldn't be shocked to see Richards with an 'A'.
Well then when someone needs to speak up and needs to smack someone around he better be willing to do it, because we don't need a lame duck "lead by example" captain who is "quiet in the locker room" because based on the recent history of the team, those kind of captains don't work out too well.
You don't have to be super vocal to be a great captain, but there are times when things need to be said. Leading by example on the ice, in the locker room, in the workout room is just as important, if not more so.
Two things I would not be in favor of:
Giving an "A" to Mike Richards, which I think may happen. Mike's game reall started coming around last year after the surgery. Let him just aorry about the game this year and build on his finish to the season. Give him an "A' the following season.
Giving a letter, especially a "C" to someone than is brand new to the team this year.
Aside from scoring more goals than anyone else on the team, there is no reason Gagne should be captain. Scoring the most goals isn't even a good reason. Knuble would be a good choice. I think you need someone with energy, plays with a sense of urgency, and likes to speak out in the room. Richards might not be a bad choice now, but may be a little too early.
1) Gagne scores the most goals for this team, is the best defensive forward on this team when asked to supply that, and is a CONSUMATE team player.
so bag the whole 'Scoring the most goals isn't even a good reason'. the good reason is that Gagne is arguably the best team player on this club.
2) You, me, and everyone else has no idea how vocal Gagne is behind closed doors.
3) Gagne is just as willing as Knuble and Kapanen to face the music with the media... he's answered more than a few tough questions without batting an eye-lash.
4) Richards has more than enough to worry about with his own game without having to worry about the rest of the team.
Aside from scoring more goals than anyone else on the team, there is no reason Gagne should be captain. Scoring the most goals isn't even a good reason. Knuble would be a good choice. I think you need someone with energy, plays with a sense of urgency, and likes to speak out in the room. Richards might not be a bad choice now, but may be a little too early.
He's not just our best goal scorer. He's also our best defensive forward and our best all-around player. while none of those are reasonsn alone to gibve him the "C", the fact that he raised his game after Forsberg left last year .... coming back ad finishing the totally worthless season on a bad leg/groin ... signing a deal to be here long-term, when he could have waited a year and cashed in huge money ala Gomez ...
teams with 300 man games lost rarely work out too well... not sure it has as much to do with the captain as people think. it was a young team with a lot of injuries, including the captain/best player. SHOCKINGLY they struggled.
Joe Sakic and Stevie Y are two very good examples of quiet, lead by example captains who've enjoyed great success in recent memory.
it really looked like Gagne was headed towards being captain at the end of the year, but i'm sure they will think about that in the summer without all the other stuff going on around the team before they make a decision about what they want to do.
regardless of what happens, i wouldn't be shocked to see Richards with an 'A'.
I don't give a damn what happened with other teams, for this team the only good captain we've had since before Eric Lindros was Keith Primeau, and he was the only one who was vocal (and before Hitchcock, he wasn't even a model citizen, but he was the best one). That's the type of captain we need, and if we had that type of captain we wouldn't have been as pathetically bad as we were last season.
If we brought in a guy like Brendan Shanahan like we should have, there is no way he would have put up with the shenanigans that were going on last season.
I don't give a damn what happened with other teams, for this team the only good captain we've had since before Eric Lindros was Keith Primeau, and he was the only one who was vocal. That's the type of captain we need, and if we had that type of captain we wouldn't have been as pathetically bad as we were last season. If we brought in a guy like Brendan Shanahan like we should have, there is no way he would have put up with the shenanigans that were going on last season.
Just because Primeau was the one we've had adn he was vocal doesn't mean we can't have a great captain that isn't vocal.
Neither Bobby Clarke or Dave Poulin were very vocal, and Clarke is one of the top 2 or 3 captains in NHL history, and Poulin was also an unbelieveable captain. Tocchet was very vocal during his time as captain here, and he was a disaster.
As the team is currently constituted it should be;
C - Gagne
A - Knuble
A - Kapanen
Those are the three names that immediately came to my mind, which does say something I suppose. However, I do think Richards deserves some consideration for an A as well. I'd be ok with Gagne or Knuble getting the C. As you guys have pointed out, they're possibly the two best players on the team, veterans, play the game the right way, lead by example, and really take pride in their team. You can't really come up with better qualifications for a Philly captain.
I don't give a damn what happened with other teams, for this team the only good captain we've had since before Eric Lindros was Keith Primeau, and he was the only one who was vocal (and before Hitchcock, he wasn't even a model citizen, but he was the best one). That's the type of captain we need, and if we had that type of captain we wouldn't have been as pathetically bad as we were last season.
If we brought in a guy like Brendan Shanahan like we should have, there is no way he would have put up with the shenanigans that were going on last season.
i don't buy for a second that there's only one way to crack a nut. that team was a product of veterans, not just Primeau, and a very good coach. the struggles since then have been the product of youth, inexperience, and injuries.
the argument that you need one specific mould of leadership is so easy to refute it's barely worth it, but i would point out a few specific thing. firstly, the roster that we will play with next season isn't even REMOTELY similar to the roster that Primeau led so well in your opinion. it is a younger, less physical, etc. etc. roster. secondly, the coach is a completely different individual in temperment, which was much of the success of Primeau as a captain. thirdly, as i just noted... some of the most successful captains of recent memory haven't exactly been cut in the mould that Primeau took on.
now, none of that means that Primeau wouldn't be a successful leader of this group. leadership anywhere in life is about interacting with personalities and getting everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction. THAT is not a one-stop shopping type of experience. just because it worked with Primeau doesn't mean it won't work in another fashion. i'll refrain from using military and diplomatic history to prove that point in an even more obvious situation where leadership is of inherent importance -- a string of examples that tend to prove that shouters aren't nearly as effective as people think.
can Gagne be a great captain? no idea. however, i will guarantee you this... you're wrong that a character like Primeau is the only choice, and you're wrong to suggest that Gagne would be a bad choice because he's not like Primeau.
Just because Primeau was the one we've had adn he was vocal doesn't mean we can't have a great captain that isn't vocal.
Neither Bobby Clarke or Dave Poulin were very vocal, and Clarke is one of the top 2 or 3 captains in NHL history, and Poulin was also an unbelieveable captain. Tocchet was very vocal during his time as captain here, and he was a disaster.
That's why I said recent history (anyone since Eric Lindros).
Everyone knows that when Rod Brind'Amour was here, he was the real captain (not Lindros) and he was a great vocal leader who also led by example.
I don't care who or who isn't a good type of captain, the trend I see is that one type of captain over the other, for this team, has been more beneficial than the other.
That's why I said recent history (anyone since Eric Lindros).
Everyone knows that when Rod Brind'Amour was here, he was the real captain (not Lindros) and he was a great vocal leader who also led by example.
I don't care who or who isn't a good type of captain, the trend I see is that one type of captain over the other, for this team, has been more beneficial than the other.
i would argue that point considerably... but i've also questioned your recollection of the Lindros era numerous times.
those teams, especially prior to the squabbles with the front office, were the complete embodiment of Lindros' temperment as a player. Brind'Amour was certainly a key cog, and part of the guts of the team... but those teams derived their swagger, snarl, and intimidation from Lindros... he was the captain.
That's why I said recent history (anyone since Eric Lindros).
Everyone knows that when Rod Brind'Amour was here, he was the real captain (not Lindros) and he was a great vocal leader who also led by example.
I don't care who or who isn't a good type of captain, the trend I see is that one type of captain over the other, for this team, has been more beneficial than the other.
That's one guy, and this is also a drastically different team. That Primeau led team was filled with vertans, this one is filled with young kids. We miss Primeau's play on the ice alot more than we miss what he said in the locker room.
That's one guy, and this is also a drastically different team. That Primeau led team was filled with vertans, this one is filled with young kids. We miss Primeau's play on the ice alot more than we miss what he said in the locker room.
While there are young kids on the team, some of these young kids, it's time to step up. Will they get the picture from someone who won't get in their face? Todd Fedoruk and Sami Kapanen were the only two guys on this team last year who even resembled the captain and when Sami did something resembling leadership, the some members of team looked at him like he was a ghost (including valued veteran Simon Gagne, whom we are led to believe has learned something since then), but some of them at least got the picture when Todd punched Joni in the face (sadly, one of them wasn't Joni) and then made Ryan Potulny go out and collect pucks. So if next season starts and these kids keep screwing up, is Simon going to get in their face or are they supposed to marvel at Simon Gagne leading on the ice? Contrary to popular belief, there was more than his share of games where he didn't even show up last year.
it's definitley gag's team, best player on the team so i think he should don the C.
A- knuble
A- kap
i would strongly consider richards but i just fear that it may be too much responsibility and pressure to give a young player. i do think in a couple years he will be the teams future captain, but i would hold off a little bit.
1. Kapanen, he probably should have been handed the C instead of Forsberg last year. He's healthy and rejuvinated. Downside: he's only got a couple of season's left in him.
2. Gagne. He turned it down before, because it was still Primeau's, now that Kieth is out of the picture, he's stepped up. Downside: When's his free-agency year?
3. K. Timonen. Led the Predators. Good vet. Downside: Only knows Hartnell, Upshaw, and Jussi.....then again, that may be an upside.
After a disappointing sophomore season, let's not burden Richards with any leadership responsibilities. He'll take charge when needed.
Also, while we may consider someone's personality to be quiet during games, we have little insight as to their personalities in the lockerroom during games, or at practice.
2. Gagne. He turned it down before, because it was still Primeau's, now that Kieth is out of the picture, he's stepped up. Downside: When's his free-agency year?
