If Hejduk is named captain, it would be for one season and then they would need to find another captain next season. If he actually is a good leader then he can keep the A and still provide leadership in the dressing room for one season. Doesn't need the C on his chest to be a leader.
Erik Johnson has been saying and doing all the right things. I remember Dater saying he was very vocal in the room towards the end of the year. He should also be on the team for many years. He is young but he will have guys like Hejduk and Giguere on the team to help him out.
During their first four seasons with Joe Sakic, the Nordiques finished last place in the Adams Division and last in the entire league for three straight years, from 1989 to 1991
This reminds me of our current predicament. I think we will have a big possibility of having an interim Captain for most of this season. If it were me and with all we know of the organization we want another Sakic type of leader "term". Someone we can count on for 5-10+ years. I just don't feel EJ has enough familiarity just yet for that (I think he will, he has such a presence on ice, you cant miss him). I could see it going as 3 A's or one interim for a bit till things get figured out after preseason and into the start of the regular season.
However this all could be me just having a nostalgic point of view, Super Joe was one in a million....
I love what the AVs are doing with the youth movement which is why I said who should be the next Captain instead of who will be the next Captain in this poll. I didn't want folks guessing what Joe will do.
Some great posts here but I still believe ROB is the right choice (although I appear to be alone here.) Anyways, here's why I think so:
We've got a ton of great potential long-term captains but none have had enough time with the team to separate themselves from the list. I don't want to *give* the C away to Hejduk simply because it would look like a move that says, "We don't know which direction we want to go so: tag...you're it." In a way my pick is doing the same thing to ROB but it's not as much of a side-show because ROB isn't the most senior member of the AVs roster. I don't want Hejduk getting a consolation prize for the being the last standing man. If he wanted it that would be great...but I don't get the feeling that it makes much difference for him.
ROB isn't the right move for a long-term future Captain, but I don't think anyone can question his heart or his effort. His skills (if you are looking for a top 3 d-man) and maybe the ability to keep hold of his stick from time to time might be lacking but I don't think too many people think he is a long-term part of this team.
ROB being named Captain isn't as embarrassing as giving it to a humble player like Milan for nothing more than just still be here. He also isn't projected to be a long-term member of the AVs so in a year or two when he moves on we will have a larger sample size of games from EJ, Duchene, Stastny, ROR and who-have-you to make a determination of the next long-term Captain.
My two-cents only....so take 'em for what it's worth...which with this economy isn't much.
It's hard to say anyone is a better leader than another guy on the team without being in the locker room. None of us can possibly know who is driving this team in between periods.
A guy may say the right things in the media or have a great presence off the ice, but that's like 1/4 of the job of being a captain of an NHL club IMO.
If Hejduk is named captain, it would be for one season and then they would need to find another captain next season. If he actually is a good leader then he can keep the A and still provide leadership in the dressing room for one season. Doesn't need the C on his chest to be a leader.
Erik Johnson has been saying and doing all the right things. I remember Dater saying he was very vocal in the room towards the end of the year. He should also be on the team for many years. He is young but he will have guys like Hejduk and Giguere on the team to help him out.
Nobody needs the C on their chest to be a leader. And with that thought, I think they should just go in to the season with no captain for now. Let somebody step up and prove themselves. EJ is saying all the right things to the press, but Stastny has been in my mind the guy for quite a while. See which one out of them really steps up and takes it.
I love what the AVs are doing with the youth movement which is why I said who should be the next Captain instead of who will be the next Captain in this poll. I didn't want folks guessing what Joe will do.
Some great posts here but I still believe ROB is the right choice (although I appear to be alone here.) Anyways, here's why I think so:
We've got a ton of great potential long-term captains but none have had enough time with the team to separate themselves from the list. I don't want to *give* the C away to Hejduk simply because it would look like a move that says, "We don't know which direction we want to go so: tag...you're it." In a way my pick is doing the same thing to ROB but it's not as much of a side-show because ROB isn't the most senior member of the AVs roster. I don't want Hejduk getting a consolation prize for the being the last standing man. If he wanted it that would be great...but I don't get the feeling that it makes much difference for him.
ROB isn't the right move for a long-term future Captain, but I don't think anyone can question his heart or his effort. His skills (if you are looking for a top 3 d-man) and maybe the ability to keep hold of his stick from time to time might be lacking but I don't think too many people think he is a long-term part of this team.
ROB being named Captain isn't as embarrassing as giving it to a humble player like Milan for nothing more than just still be here. He also isn't projected to be a long-term member of the AVs so in a year or two when he moves on we will have a larger sample size of games from EJ, Duchene, Stastny, ROR and who-have-you to make a determination of the next long-term Captain.
My two-cents only....so take 'em for what it's worth...which with this economy isn't much.
I disagree. Giving the captaincy to a veteran player that has played his entire career with the organization versus giving it to a guy who was considered a fringe NHLer until he was traded here and has not even played a full year here is much, much more embarassing. I understand your reasoning but the choice would not sit well with teammates or fans, in my opinion. (I don't even think ROB would accept the captaincy when presented the with the opportunity)
I can see things going one of two ways :
1) Hejduk - for 1 or 2 seasons, as mentioned above, because we have such a young team and he's been here so long. Gives us time to make the best choice for the future. 'The last man standing because no one else wants it' is a question of perception. I certainly don't see things that way.
2) No Captains - Just Alternates : Until the choice becomes obvious. I see only THREE real, logical candidates for the long-term future anyways. Stastny, Johnson or Landeskog. The only reason you wouldn't name Stastny or Johnson right now is because Lando may very well be the BEST CHOICE in the end.
(I love Duchene but in my opinion, he's not captain material for now and it will be 4-5 years MINIMUM before he is ready if at all)
Stastny- C
Hejduk- A
Duchene- A home.
Johnson- A away.
I would give the "C" to hejduk if next season wasn't possibly his last, it just seems like it would be for sentiment sake if we gave to him. Lando hasn't even made the roster yet, while I'm super excited to watch play, we have to see how he adjust at the NHL level.
I disagree. Giving the captaincy to a veteran player that has played his entire career with the organization versus giving it to a guy who was considered a fringe NHLer until he was traded here and has not even played a full year here is much, much more embarassing. I understand your reasoning but the choice would not sit well with teammates or fans, in my opinion. (I don't even think ROB would accept the captaincy when presented the with the opportunity)
I can see things going one of two ways :
1) Hejduk - for 1 or 2 seasons, as mentioned above, because we have such a young team and he's been here so long. Gives us time to make the best choice for the future. 'The last man standing because no one else wants it' is a question of perception. I certainly don't see things that way.
2) No Captains - Just Alternates : Until the choice becomes obvious. I see only THREE real, logical candidates for the long-term future anyways. Stastny, Johnson or Landeskog. The only reason you wouldn't name Stastny or Johnson right now is because Lando may very well be the BEST CHOICE in the end.
(I love Duchene but in my opinion, he's not captain material for now and it will be 4-5 years MINIMUM before he is ready if at all)
I personally think O'Reilly belongs in that list too.
Stastny seems like a shy and quiet type. Sakic was quiet as well but he sure did all the leadership on the ice. I just don't see that in Stastny. Sakic would score you big goals and win you alot of games, also something you don't see much from Stastny.
Hejduk=also too quiet to be a Captain.
Duchene=still too young and maturing.
I think EJ is the guy to give the C to. Specially after reading his recent comments.
Stastny seems like a shy and quiet type. Sakic was quiet as well but he sure did all the leadership on the ice. I just don't see that in Stastny. Sakic would score you big goals and win you alot of games, also something you don't see much from Stastny.
Hejduk=also too quiet to be a Captain.
Duchene=still too young and maturing.
I think EJ is the guy to give the C to. Specially after reading his recent comments.
I don't think Stastny is shy and quiet. And I don't know how you can use quietness and shyness as a strike against someone being a captain when you yourself note that Sakic, who we sometimes just call "the Captain," was quiet.
I think Hejduk should get it. Not because he is ideal but it will give us 1-2 years to figure out who is best suited for it. I also am of the view that leaders emerge, letters or not on the chest, but since there is a decent chance our next captain will be wearing the C for five-ten years, making sure we get it right seems like the proper thing to do.
And it is not like Hejduk is a poor choice. He is a respected veteran that has won the cup. Avs player for Life. Been taking discounts. Last link to our great championship teams (a bit iffy with the nostalgia factor since this is a new team but since it's temporary it'll be fine).
About EJ. I get the feeling he puts enough pressure on himself without having to worry about being a captain. I think putting the C on him might not be the best way for him to continue develop. I might be wrong and he might thrive if he was captain, of course.
I think just now would be a good time to give the captaincy to EJ. I get the feeling from his comments that he thrives on being trusted and believed in. I think he was under intense pressure from the Blues organisation to immediately be a 50 point do it all defenseman. He wasn't quite ready, is definitely capable of that, but I think when he got injured people got frustrated then his production wasn't quite what was expected of a #1 draft pick. Plus the emergence of Pietrangelo probably hampered his ice time and powerplay time. I believe he is more of a confidence player than people realise. That's my impression.
Then the trade. Now he's at an organisation where he's the stud defenseman. The number 1. As said, you all observed him to be our best defenseman after the trade, that motivation, drive, determination to prove all the doubters calling him a bust wrong, plus give him the C, put your faith, belief, support, confidence that he can lead this team for years and watch him grab it with two hands and run up and down the Rockies all season long until he brings that Cup back down with him.
I agree with Hedjuk being the most likely course of action, with Stasny a close second. I want to see EJ as I've already said. Hedjuk is a sideways move but I say you give him the C this season, say its up for grabs next regardless of Hedjuks situation and see who steps up during the season.
I really think O'Reilly would be a great captain next year, but his young age probably pulls him from the running. Management might also think it'd put too much pressure on him to start producing points (though I think this will be his breakout year anyway). That and he's in the running for it with Erik Johnson, and Johnson has captain capabilities while also being our shiny new toy so making EJ captain might be better for PR and advertising.
I'd be fine with EJ as captain, but him becoming captain means that unless he gets it pulled from him ala Marleau, EJ will be captain as long as he's an Av, and I'm assuming that will be quite a long time. Not saying he will be a bad captain and in fact I think he'll make a great one, I just really think O'Reilly would be the perfect captain for this team and EJ being captain probably erases that possibility.
If EJ is captain, I'd like to see O'Reilly get the "A" in another season or two (perhaps after Hejduk retires).
It will either be EJ or Stazz depending on what they want the personality of the team to be. Johnson is more of an emotional leader, but Stastny is the lead by example, reassuring type. Very similar demeanor to Jonathan Toews. Captain serious, if you want.
I'd give it to Stastny, but Johnson isn't a bad choice either.
